Heres How 'Pet Sematary Bloodlines' Ties Into the 2019 Reboot

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Pet Sematary: BloodlinesPet Sematary: Bloodlines, the prequel to the 2019 reboot Pet Sematary starring Jason Clarke and John Lithgow, takes place decades before the 2019 adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel of the same name. Unfortunately, aside from lacking the scares and gore of the novel, it also isn't exactly rooted in anything that the author himself wrote. Instead, this is a brand-new look at how one of the original film's central characters came to learn of the titular "Sematary," and the secrets that the town of Ludlow, Maine has been burying for years. The end result doesn't exactly provide the most exciting prequel ever made, but for fans of King's novel who are dying for one more trip to Ludlow, this movie might scratch that itch.

How Does the Paramount+ Prequel Address 2019's 'Pet Sematary'?

Pet Sematary is one of the bleakest novels in Stephen King's entire bibliography. Its story of the Creed family doing everything that they can to bring back all that they have lost makes for a grim and depressing read, but also is evidence of King's ability to craft sympathetic characters, and his skill at building slow-burning, nightmarish set pieces. The recent 2019 adaptation of Pet Sematary attempts to do its own thing and is somewhat successful at building an eerie atmosphere, but doesn't come close to touching the scares or overall sadness of its source material. It doesn't deliver on the novel's gore, shock value, or family drama, and mishandles building the relationship between Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) and his neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow). However, it does succeed in the way that it establishes Ludlow, Maine as a town with a long and sinister history.

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines seems to have taken notes on where its predecessor went right. This 1960s set prequel doubles down on trying to build an even richer history for Ludlow by exploring the past of the original film's mysterious, elderly figure, Jud Crandall (this time, played by Jackson White). In the original Pet Sematary, Jud is a wise and fatherly figure to Louis Creed. When the two become neighbors early on in the movie, Crandall is hospitable towards the Creed family, and even bonds with Ellie (Jeté Laurence) and Gage (Hugo and Lucas Lavoie), Louis's kids. This leads to him stepping in when the family's cat, Church, is hit by a truck. He buries the cat's body out at the Pet Sematary, a place that has the power to resurrect anything put in the ground there. Although Church comes back with a more aggressive demeanor than before, he is living proof of the titular location's powers.

This is a detrimental revelation for Louis after his daughter is also killed by a truck. In a moment of devastation and desperation, he buries his daughter at the Pet Sematary to bring her back to life. Jud tries to warn him of the ramifications that might come with doing so, but Louis drugs Crandall and goes ahead with his plans anyway. The results are disastrous, with Ellie coming back as a somewhat zombified version of her former self. She not only kills Jud, but she kills and resurrects her mother, who then stabs her husband. The three of them all end up as re-animated Pet Sematary versions of themselves, burn Jud's house down, and move in on their son, Gage. Despite Jud's warnings, everything ultimately turned for the worse for the Creed family.

‘Pet Sematary: Bloodlines’ Doesn’t Know What To Do With Jud Crandall

But how did Jud Crandall know of the "Sematary's" powers? Set 50 years prior, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines attempts to answer that very question. This film is set in the late '60s and follows a young adult Jud as he desperately wants to move out of Ludlow and start a new life. Just when he and his girlfriend, Norma (Natalie Alyn Lind), are heading out of town, they manage to get sucked back in after she is viciously attacked by a dog. During his prolonged stay, Jud learns that his friend Timmy Baterman's (Jack Mulhern) body was buried at the Pet Sematary by his father, Bill Baterman (David Duchovny). Like Ellie in the 2019 film, Timmy begins killing the townspeople, so Jud and a few others band together to finally put him to rest. In the end, Jud and Norma decide to stay in Ludlow. (For whatever reason.)

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Straight out of the gate, Bloodlines makes Jud Crandall's character in the original Pet Sematary not make much sense. In 1969, he's desperate to leave his hometown, and apparently has been for a long time, but ends up deciding to stay after a re-animated version of his friend Timmy kills tons of people in town? Jud Crandall doesn't just go from dying to leave town to deciding to stay for a little while longer... he remains in Ludlow for the next 50 years of his life! If the filmmakers gave us another reason to sympathize with him early on in the movie, and then he stayed to warn the townspeople of the graveyard's evil powers, that might make more sense. Instead, we're left with someone who can't wait to leave, but then changes his mind at a time that doesn't make much sense. Not only that, but his girlfriend Norma hates Ludlow too. After experiencing what these two did, who could imagine wanting to stay in Ludlow?

'Pet Sematary: Bloodlines' Falls Into Horror Clichés

Aside from ruining the character of Jud Crandall, Bloodlines has a plethora of other problems that it brings to the table. Despite being set in 1969, aside from Dan Crandall's (Henry Thomas) clothes and a few painfully obvious needle drops, not one bit of the movie feels period-accurate. Everything just looks and feels like it's set in 2023, small-town America. Between Pam Grier, David Duchovny, and Forrest Goodluck, it even manages to waste tons of great talent. Perhaps its biggest error is its inability to craft any real atmosphere, the most effective aspect of the original novel.

Pet Sematary has some gore and a few disgusting, zombie-like versions of once-dead characters, but more than anything, it sticks with people because of the inescapable sense of dread that Stephen King builds. Bloodlines, on the other hand, is just a series of horror clichés that try to answer questions about the town's history, only to ruin the mystery that comes with the original story. The Jud Crandall connection might sound enticing at first, but the film takes away all credibility that his character has in the 2019 film, and can't even manage to stand as an effective horror experience or period piece in the first place. In the words of Jud himself, when it comes to bringing the Pet Sematary franchise back, "Sometimes, dead is better."

The Big Picture

• Pet Sematary: Bloodlines attempts to provide a richer history for Ludlow and explores the past of the original film's central character, Jud Crandall.
• The film fails to make sense of Jud Crandall's motives, as he desperately wants to leave Ludlow but ends up deciding to stay despite the town's sinister history.
• Pet Sematary: Bloodlines lacks period accuracy, atmosphere, and relies on horror clichés, ultimately ruining the mystery and credibility of the original story.

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