Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, which is based on the untold chapter from Stephen King's bone-chilling novel Pet Sematary, serves as a prequel to the original story. In the movie, legendary actor Henry Thomas plays Jud's father, Dan, in an ensemble which also includes Forrest Goodluck, Jack Mulhern, Natalie Alyn Lind, Pam Grier, and David Duchovny.
In 1969, a young Jud Crandall dreams of leaving his hometown behind, but soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history that forever binds him to Ludlow. Banding together, Jud and his childhood friends must fight an ancient evil that has gripped the town since its founding, and once unearthed has the power to destroy everything in its path.
Last week, we caught up with Henry to discuss his role as Dan. The actor is no stranger to Stephen King projects after starring in the likes of Gerald's Game and Doctor Sleep and opens up on the challenges this role presented, why he doesn't like working with fake blood, and how he went about creating this character.
We also hear from him on his standout role in Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher, whether he'd be open to another superhero role after appearing in DC's Stargirl, and how E.T.'s legacy changed the dynamic he had with his younger co-stars.
You can check out our full interview with Henry about his role in Pet Sematary: Bloodlines below (via FearHQ.com).
You’re starting to become a familiar face in Stephen King adaptations, but what was it about this prequel and the role of Dan which really grabbed your interest?
Honestly, I thought it was interesting to work with Samantha Mathis and Lindsey Beer and thought, ‘Well, what’s a couple of months in Montreal? Sounds good to me.’ The story was kind of confusing to me, and it always is, because the horror genre, in particular, tends to throw all reason out the window in the third act! Mainly, when I look at horror scripts, I look at the characters and, for me, Dan was an interesting one because he was keeping this secret all his life and trying to protect his kids but he just came off as this weird old curmudgeon.
I really enjoyed watching you and Jackson White together on screen; was it quite easy to tap into the father/son dynamic with him?
It was great. Jackson is great, anyway. He was a lot of fun to work with. He’s very much a young man and has a young man’s energy. He was always doing pushups [Laughs] and exercises between takes. I felt, I guess, like Sir Lawrence Olivier on the Marathon Man, like, ‘Jeez, just take it easy. Relax!’ No, it was pretty easy. He’s a great guy and easy to get along with. He was taking things very seriously, as young people do, so it was inspiring to see.
It must have been quite interesting as well to explore the idea of the sins of the father being passed down to the son given that Dan has no doubt also gone through this burden being handed down to him as well?
Yeah, I mean, within all of these strange supernatural happenings, there’s a core of humanity in there that, as an actor, that’s what you latch on to. That’s the most familiar and most relatable thing for everyone.
How would you say the Vietnam War serving as a backdrop for this story and the lengths Dan goes to in order to keep his son safe factored into your portrayal of the character?
Well, absolutely. When it comes to, speaking of youth and vigor, maturity and age, you start seeing all of these government institutions and constructs as a little bit of a red flag. I think any parent wants to protect their children, although draft dodging is somewhat unethical [Laughs]. It was practised a lot in the U.S. during the Vietnam War. I think, whatever your political leanings, when it comes to your children, of course you want to protect them.
You played Jack Torrance in Doctor Sleep, Jessie's father in Gerald's Game, and now Jud’s dad in this movie; is it fair to say, despite them all being father roles, they’ll all presented you with some very unique challenges?
They’re all interesting characters. Some less despicable than others in terms of their proclivaties, but they’re all interesting. The interesting thing about playing all of them has been trying to bring the despicable aspects to light in a way that’s watchable and enjoyable, or at least entertaining perhaps [Laughs]. I hope! Every character presents its challenge. For me, the challenge of playing some of these characters has been being able to take it off and leave it behind, shivering and shaking it off.
I read a great interview with you recently where you talked about geeking out over Mark Hamill on The Fall of the House of Usher, but working with a younger cast here, did you experience something similar given your awesome career and how iconic E.T., for example, was?
Well, you know, there’s always a little bit of nostalgia associated with E.T. and I guess I’m an old timer now on set. I used to be the youngest person on set and now [Laughs] I’m in the upper echelon of age. It’s interesting because I remember, when I was a kid, I worked with Gene Hackman and I never saw him as a person. I saw him as this great actor. I never thought of him having breakfast [Laughs] or whatever. I just laugh at it now if anybody looks at me like a living legend or something because…you know, I have to take the trash out like everyone else.
Talking of The Fall of the House of Usher, what a death scene for your character with the pendulum; that must have been quite something to shoot and see play out on screen?
I kind of felt guilty because Carla had to do all the heavy lifting in that scene. I was just paralysed. I did have to wear that horrible prosthetic suit which sort of looked like a cycling uniform gone wrong. The whole midsection was hanging out, but it wasn’t very flattering. That was the challenge for me in that scene but I think the show was fantastic. I really went out on a limb with the character because a lot of that wasn’t on the page, so I was crossing my fingers that the character would come across as nuanced and I think it did. I was really pleased with it.
I won’t spoil anything for anyone, but you do get involved in a few gory scenes so how much fun are those for you on set?
Yeah! Honestly, I turned into the biggest petulant child. I don’t like having the fake blood on my skin. It reminds me of accidentally getting syrup on you and you walk around feeling like you’ve got something stuck to your skin all day. I usually get grumpy on those days, you know?
You got a taste of playing a superhero with Stargirl, but are you eager to take another shot at a role in the Marvel or DC Universes?
Well, you know, I’ve just come off strike and I need a job. I’m not going to say no [Laughs]. I do have to admit, I’m not really - and never have been - crazy about the superhero genre. I do appreciate it and I liked comic books when I was a kid a bit, but I never really got into it. I feel like it’s become the Western for our age. It’s this overplayed genre. I know it’s gotten a lot of flak as not being real cinema and all this [Laughs] which, arguably so, but it is entertainment and people have responded to those things. That’s what we’re meant to be doing, anyway, but at the same time, I would like to see something new. I would like to see a revival of historical genre films or maybe mainstream fantasy. It would be cool. There are a lot of stories that can be told which haven’t been yet.
Find out why sometimes dead is better when the terrifying prequel Pet Sematary: Bloodlines arrives to buy on Digital December 5, 2023 and debuts on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD December 19 from Paramount Home Entertainment.