Stephen King is never shy with his opinions. Just ask The Shining. But the good news is he thinks the new Pet Sematary movie is "fucking great!" This is the second movie to adapt his 1983 horror novel, following the 1989 film.
Critics have already seen the 2019 Pet Sematary and the reactions have been very positive. King seems to agree, particularly appreciating the maturity of the film:
It’s fucking great! It’s a really good movie. It’s a grown-up, adult kind of movie. It’s not like 12 semi-clad teens get killed in a summer camp. In this particular time frame, you know, there’ve been several movies that have been successful. Horror movies like Jordan Peele’s Get Out last year. And then I think when Us opens, I think it’s gonna be big. I think it’s gonna be huge. Those are like adult-type fantasies.
Stephen King must've shared those quotes a while before EW posted them, since by now Us has come out and it was indeed big -- with a bigger-than-expected opening. Horror is huge right now. Pet Sematary isn't expected to have a huge box office opening opposite Shazam! but it should pull in respectable numbers. The strong word-of-mouth can't hurt.
Stephen King also reiterated he's OK with the 2019 Pet Sematary changing one aspect of the film -- which was already revealed in the trailer so it's not really a spoiler -- that the older girl is resurrected this time and not the little boy.
It’s something different. They did a good job. Boy, I saw all the stuff that came online when people realized that it was Ellie rather than Gage that got run over in the road, and I’m thinking like, “Man, these people…” It’s so nuts. You can take Route 301 and go to Tampa, or you could take Route 17 and go to Tampa. But both times, you’re gonna come out at Tampa! [Laughs] You know what I’m saying? It didn’t change anything for me. I thought, “Okay, I understand why they did it, because it’s maybe easier to work with a zombie when she’s a little girl, [rather] than a toddler.”
Stephen King said, in general, he's fine with stories changing details -- if, in his opinion, it works for the story:
I’m really kind of mercenary about all this. My idea is, “If it works, it’s golden. If it doesn’t work, you know, Jesus Christ, why did you change it?” I mean, I’ve seen changes in stuff that’s been done to my work where I just throw up my hands and I say, “Why? Why did you do that? You had a book. You had a blueprint you could’ve gone by.”
It's true. There are good Stephen King adaptations, bad Stephen King adaptations, and a whole lot in between with a mix of both in the same project.
Read the whole Q&A for a lot more from Stephen King. Pet Sematary opens this coming Friday, April 5. And don't forget we also have It Chapter 2, Doctor Sleep, Castle Rock Season 2, The Stand, and more King adaptations still to come. He never stops!
