Chilling Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary screened in advance last night for Cineworld Unlimited members. Jason Clarke and John Lithgow star in this cautionary tale of a family who dabble in ancient supernatural evil, with tragic consequences.
The movie has already been acclaimed by critics with The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw describing it as "[a] brutally effective and convulsively disturbing story". So what did Unlimited members make of it?
Musanna lauds the work of directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, saying it's a compulsively creepy experience.
Us Unlimited members have been well fed this year so far and #PetSematary is the latest delicacy. The directors of the pretty damn good Starry Eyes prove again to have a strong appetite for the macabre, instilling every single scene with dread. Anxiety went through the roof! https://t.co/OjU2yE3Iok
— Musanna (@Musannaaa) April 1, 2019
Richard K Hornsey says the movie stands proud with the best Stephen King adaptations.
One of the best adaptations of a @StephenKing novel I've seen. All hail the mighty John Lithgow! #PetSematary #CineworldUnlimited #UnlimitedScreening
— Richard K Hornsey (@richardkhornsey) April 1, 2019
Kyle Snape says the movie is so effective, it may make you look at your pets in a different light...
#PetSematary was excellent! It's a tense, slow-burner of a film that is able to be grounded enough in its setting and characters to truly get its scares across in an authentic way.
— Kyle Snape (@kylemsnape) April 1, 2019
Though beware, you'll won't want to cuddle a cat again afterwards. @cineworld #CineworldUnlimited pic.twitter.com/SFvWYeJjPz
Mark MacKenzie says the film is laudable for how it steers away from bloodshed and gore in favour of atmosphere.
If you wanted a blood and gore horror that’s not what this is! It’s a thriller and how it was written different to the original. I prefer the tense thrillers as they raise the heartbeat. Blood and gore ones get silly 4/5 from me.
— Mark MacKenzie (@DJlittlebear) April 2, 2019
Emma says she had a creepy experience on her return from Cineworld – thank goodness King's horrifying creations are fictional, eh?
Just got back from #PetSematary at @cineworld and on the way home the radio played Coldplay with the lyrics "you're alive again", as i started walking to my flat 2 cats appeared from nowhere and stared me out and my bedroom backs onto woods. I AM NOT SLEEPING TONIGHT FOLKS
— Emma (@mcauley26) April 1, 2019
On the other hand, Austerity Gamer says the movie doesn't quite live up to the promise of its opening scenes.
#PetSemetary got off to a great start, establishing a really creepy atmosphere with just the right amount of jump-scares. Unfortunately, the final act trailed off into standard horror clichés which spoiled it a bit for me. Always great to see the mighty John Lithgow, though.
— Austerity Gamer (@AusterityGamer) April 1, 2019
And Glitter Freeze says the movie's use of jump scares is something of a disappointment.
Unfortunately, it was pretty average. The pacing is slow, the visuals are pretty standard, and it relies to heavily on conventional horror tropes such as loud noises and jumpscares. The final act felt really rushed as well. Good cast though. #PetSematary #unlimitedscreening
— Ｇｌｉｔｔｅｒ ｆｒｅｅｚｅ (@bigflyingsheep) April 2, 2019
Anyone else who was at last night's screening can tweet their reactions @Cineworld and using #CineworldUnlimited. Pet Sematary is released in Cineworld on 4th April.
Your Unlimited screenings don't stop there this month. On 8th April we're previewing critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama Eighth Grade from first-time director Bo Burnham. Check out the trailer below.
Not yet part of the Unlimited club? Then embark on the journey of a lifetime with advance screenings, restaurant discounts and lots more. Click here to join Cineworld Unlimited.
.jpg)
.png)
