Exclusive: Pet Sematary: Bloodlines director Lindsey Anderson Beer reacts to Stephen King’s positive response to the prequel movie of his book.
Summary
- Stephen King approves of the upcoming Pet Sematary prequel, praising its storytelling and performances.
- The director had regular check-ins with King throughout the production to ensure his satisfaction with the film.
- Despite King’s endorsement, the prequel faces challenges including negative early reviews and competition from other horror releases in October.
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With the author giving his seal of approval to the project, co-writer/director Lindsey Anderson Beer reacts to Stephen King’s positive response to Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. The Paramount+ project acts as a prequel to King’s 1983 novel, chronicling the story of young Jud Crandall, well before he meets Louis Creed, as he comes to learn of the horrors and history behind the eponymous graveyard. Led by Jackson White, King recently took to his Twitter to share his appreciation for the movie, acknowledging that while it takes “a few liberties” with his source material, it’s still a “fine story” with an “excellent” performance from David Duchovny and that its focus on “caring about the characters” is what makes it succeed.
While speaking exclusively with Screen Rant for the movie, Beer opened up about King’s positive response to Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. The co-writer/director described his reaction as being “just so reward ing” and assuring they had “check-ins” with the author at various points, being unwilling to “shoot anything he didn’t like.” See what Beer shared below:
I have not had any direct communication with him. We have had check-ins at all kinds of key points, like he signed off on the shooting script, and gave us the thumbs up, and said he liked it. Obviously, I would not have wanted to shoot anything he didn’t like. But it’s always a journey from scripts to finished film, so it was just so rewarding to see that it resonates with him, and that he loves the movie as much as we do, it’s his baby. So I’m just glad that he feels we did right by it.
Will King’s Approval Lead To Viewership Success?
King’s vote of confidence for the Pet Sematary prequel could bode well for its chances on Paramount+ leading up to its premiere. Though the platform has enjoyed some success in the ever-growing streaming war landscape, few of their original releases have made major splashes in viewership standings, with the splashy Mark Wahlberg-led Infinite flopping with critics and Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin failing to resonate even with long-term fans of the horror franchise. King’s reviews on social media have led to some projects enjoying greater success, including the MGM+ horror show From and the recent Hulu hit, No One Will Save You.
Even with the author’s support, one of the biggest hurdles Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is facing is the early reviews coming out of its festival premieres. At the time of writing, the prequel sits with just a 22% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the lowest scores for a King adaptation in recent years, save for the Children of the Corn reboot, which landed with a very low 12%. The majority of the negative reviews thus far have expressed feeling Bloodlines doesn’t add enough to the mythology of King’s source material, while others have found it too formulaic.
Related: Every Stephen King Movie Franchise, Ranked Worst To Best
One of the other potential speedbumps in Pet Sematary: Bloodlines‘ potential success is its October 6 release date. The weekend is already expected to be a heated competition at the box office between holdover releases PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Saw X, and new release The Exorcist: Believer, especially given their arrivals in time for the Halloween season. With the rest of the month also pitting the prequel against fellow horror titles Totally Killer and Five Nights at Freddy’s, the movie will have a lot of challenges to overcome to become a viewership hit.
Key Release Date
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Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Release Date: 2023-10-06
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Source: SCHOOL EMC
