PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES (2023
Label: Paramount Pictures
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 87 Minutes 22 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, True HD 7.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Lindsey Beer
Cast: Jackson White, Forrest Goodluck, Jack Mulhern, Henry Thomas, Natalie Alyn Lind and Isabella Star LaBlanc, Pam Grier, David Duchovny
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023) is a direct-to-Paramount+ prequel to the 2019 reboot of Stephen King's Pet Sematary, focusing on the earlier life of old porch-rocker Judd Crandall. The year is 1969 and the shadow of the Vietnam War and the draft loom heavily over Ludlow, Maine. Restless teen Jud Crandall (Jackson White, Ambulance) and his girlfriend Norma (Natalie Alyn Lind, TV's Gotham) are about to leave town to join the Peace Corp in Michigan, meanwhile Judd's childhood friend Timmy (Jack Mulhern, HBO's Mare of Easttown) has been drafted into the war, and on their way out of town when a crow smashes into their windshield, causing them to nearly hit Timmy's old dog Hendrix. They walk the dog, which seems a bit off, home and are surprised to find that Timmy has returned home from 'Nam, but he's distant and cold, the reunion in short-lived as Hendrix takes a vicious bite out of Norma's arm, sending her to the hospital, delaying their plans to leave Ludlow. With Norma recovering at the hospital Judd re-visits Timmy, discovering he's not just suffering PTSD caused by his experiences in the war, but he's changed, three's something very off about him. The reason for that is because Timmy didn't survive 'Nam, he was sent home in a box and his father Bill Baterman (David Duchovny, The X-Files) took him up to the old Micmac burial ground and resurrected him, and if you've seen any of the previous incarnations of Kings story you know he don't come back right, now inhabited by something malevolent, and much back-from-dead and wrong-in-the-head carnage ensues. Judd teams-up with his other childhood friend, native American teen Manny (Forrest Goodluck, The Revenant) and his sister Donna (Isabella Star LaBlanc, HBO's True Detective) to fight the encroaching evil before it can further infect Ludlow, as well as discovering a secret society of Ludlow residents who are descended from the founding fathers of the town, sworn to combat the returning evil; among them Judd's dad (Henry Thomas (Cloak and Dagger) and the town's mail man (Pam Grier, Foxy Brown).
Not a great sequel, and not one that does anything particularly new or exciting either, but an entertaining watch that has plenty of smalltown creepy atmosphere, some surprising visceral gore, and it's handsomely made for what is most likely a cheapie. It does manage to expand the folklore of the Micmac burial ground somewhat, we get flashbacks to the 1600s with the founding settlors, but it either loses it's, especially the final act in a network of subterranean tunnels that had me scratching my head. It's got some decent atmosphere for sure but the cast seems really flat, only Forrest Goodluck and Isabella Star LaBlanc as the native American sibling brought any depth to their characters, most everyone else just seems to be cashing a paycheck. Overall it failed to really pull me into too deeply, but I think it's a decent enough one and done, but not much more than that for me, despite some visceral violence and gore this one lacks any serious bite.
Audio/Video: Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023) arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Pictures in 2160p UHD framed in 2.39:1 widescreen with the benefit of Dolby Vision. The digital shot film looks terrific, a sharp and crisp looking image with superior black levels, excellent shadow detail, and the WGC color-grade gives primaries a nice blush, with the reds of blood looking particularly nice.
I was a bit surprised we get a Dolby Atmos audio track, and quite pleased by what it brings to it. Dialogue is rendered with depth and clarity, and the eerie score from Brandon Roberts sounds quite full-bodies, as do the period specific soundtrack selections from Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Platters, Dion, The Band, The Music Machine and others.
We get about 40-minutes of featurettes that explore the source novel connections, how it relates to the 2019 reboot, the cast and crew, set design and special effects. The single disc 4K UHD release arrives in a black keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork. Inside there's a redemption code for a 4K UHD copy of the film that includes the extras.
Special Features:
- Origins; Fresh Blood (10:16)
- Death's Design (6:19)
- Method To The Madness (11:07)
- War Comes Home (12:25)
Available from www.MovieZyng.com
