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.
To celebrate the movie's release on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD today, December 19, we recently caught up with writer and director Lindsey Anderson Beer to discuss the work that went into telling this terrifying new story set in the world of Pet Sematary.
The filmmaker talks us through her approach to Pet Sematary: Bloodlines' unique story, why she chose to use the Vietnam War as a backdrop, the fun of getting hands-on with gore, and how her love of horror inspired the approach she took to this movie.
Check out the full interview with Lindsey below along with our recent chat with star Henry Thomas.
With this movie, you’re taking one of Stephen King’s most beloved novels and expanding the mythology; as a writer, is that quite an intimidating process?
I think it probably should have been intimidating, but the dominant emotion I was feeling was excitement over the knowledge I had the privilege of playing in a sandbox in a world I have so loved and admired. I led with that rather than fear [Laughs].
In every iteration of Pet Sematary, things don’t end well for Jud, so what were some of the biggest challenges of giving an origin story to a character whose final fate is already known?
There’s always an inherent challenge when you know the fans who have followed something like Pet Sematary know the protagonist survives. Then, there are those who are new to the franchise who won’t know what happens to him. I really just thought about it in terms of the stakes and how it was his psychological arc in terms of how he transforms from this nice young man who wants to go out and serve his country to somebody who is jaded and sitting on the porch. That’s how we know him in later instalments. Also, of course, we don’t know the fate of those he cares about so the trick was making sure those relationships were strong enough that we cared about him as the lead of this film.
Obviously, the book mentioned that Timmy fought in World War II, but you have Vietnam as a backdrop. What about that conflict and what it might have done to Timmy - even before he was brought back - did you find most interesting to explore?
That was one of the things that really drew me to the project and the idea of it being a prequel. Making it Vietnam with the fighting and uncertainty…it’s one thing, I think, when it’s a war anybody can justify but when it’s something so controversial and you have the effects of war and you see this innocent boy from Maine go out and fight and kill his fellow human beings, it’s clear he was already in a private hell before he came back home. I thought a lot about it and the fact the Timmy they knew had already died at war before he literally died and was resurrected.
I loved the soundtrack for this movie - including a little Creedence Clearwater Revival - but how much fun was it for you to put that together?
Oh my God, that was such a joy. I was listening to 50s and 60s and 70s music the entire time I was writing and filming and editing the movie. It’s such a vibe. In my mind, the older characters really listen to music from the 50s and early 60s and the younger characters were more into the late 60s soundtrack so I could sort of mix it up. The music from that era is just amazing.
There’s some great gore in the movie, like the hospital scene with Donna’s foot, so what were some of your favourite experiences getting hands-on with those practical effects?
[Laughs] That hospital sequence was actually the first thing we filmed. For everybody, it was like, ‘Welcome to Pet Sematary!’ It was such a blast. It was definitely all in on the first day.
I spoke to Henry Thomas and he mentioned that fake blood is a sticky nightmare. Did you find that to be the case even though you’re behind the camera?
Yes! I mean, I’m behind the camera, but I’m also a very hands-on person so I had sticky fake blood all over my hair, fingers, and clothes [Laughs]. I learned a helpful trick from the makeup people that, if you use toothpaste on your hair, you can get the pink out! [Laughs]
Were there any particular influences or even some of your own favourite horror movies that played a role in how you approached this story?
I love horror for a lot of reasons. I love genre in general and love horror, sci-fi, and action. It really allows you to take a funhouse mirror to society and explore our deepest fears and deepest ills and evils. But in an entertaining way, all while your characters face those things as obstacles and, hopefully, come out the other side. Or not. It really serves a very important, cathartic service to people to watch horror films. For me, as a filmmaker, I love horror because I love the more limited budget and practical effects of it as it allows you to dig into every arsenal in a filmmaker’s toolkit because you can’t rely on visual effects and instead rely on the people in the trade and on storytelling. I love that challenge.
In terms of specific influences, there wasn’t anything I had specifically in mind other than Apocalypse Now. I talked about that a lot when we were designing the swamp sequence to make sure that fight at the end and the design of the swamp completed the metaphor of war coming home. In terms of other film references, not really. I think everything is a product of everything we’ve ever seen, admired, and loved. I’ve enjoyed such a wide range of horror films, whether it’s Nightmare on Elm Street or Scream. I loved so many things with different tones but just really liked horror.
On another note, I know you revealed recently that you worked briefly on Silver Sable. Is there anything you can tell us about what you’d set out to do with that character and why you think the project just doesn’t seem to have come together since?
Yeah, you know…that was hard to speak to because that was a different kind of assignment. It was what we call a weekly in Hollywood where you’re just brought on for a couple of weeks to do some work on something. I don’t have a tonne of insights into what became of that project or what the problem was. I wish I could speak more to it, but I agree with you. It has such potential.
IT is getting a prequel TV series, but are there any other Stephen King books you’d like to take a deeper dive into similar to that and Bloodlines?
You know, I love him so much and there are so many stories of his I think could be expanded and that’s a testament to his writing. It’s just so rich and detailed. Every book he does is such a world and the characters are so complex, but they also leave you wanting more. There’s nothing specific in my head, but I’d love to work on another Stephen King project in the future, for sure.
Find out why sometimes dead is better when the terrifying prequel Pet Sematary: Bloodlines arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD today, December 19, from Paramount Home Entertainment. The movie is also available on Digital platforms.