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‘Pet Sematary’ Moves Forward, ‘The Grudge’ Reboots With Sam Raimi

By Nick Younker
Published on: 06:51 PST, Mar 4, 2016

Pet Sematary is one of those movies that fans really loved and hated. But now that the Stephen King classic novel has been optioned for yet another movie adaptation, the film could end up being scarier than the original.

For horror and Stephen King fans, adapting any of his work for the big screen will be a big draw. But people who are not exactly fans of the horror genre saw the original Pet Sematary movie (and book) as one of their most loved and hated works because it involves the death of a young child. It was the kind of thing that made readers and moviegoers cringe in despair. But they couldn’t look away because there had to be more to the story after that.

Pet Sematary is one of those films adaptations that had all of the right elements in place to make for a huge box office draw. The actors, the story, and the timing were spot on for the film to achieve overwhelming success. So now, it seems as though that perfect storm of circumstances might once again be converging for another take on the story.

In an interview with Dread Central, the new filmmaker for the reboot, Jeff Buhler, gave fans some insight on how the project is progressing.

“They are currently out to cast, and they are going for some bigger names, so it’s taking some time,” Buhler told Dread Central.

The first Pet Sematary also had those key elements of big-name stars, at least for that time in 1989. It starred Fred Gwynne (The Munsters), Dale Midkiff, and Denise Crosby. Although Midkiff and Crosby were only fairly well know at the time, it was Gwynne who had all of the star power for the role of Jud Crandall. Some might even say that Crandall stole the spotlight in the film but only played a supporting character role next to Midkiff and Crosby.

According to Box Office Mojo, Pet Sematary only cost $11 million to make and brought in over $57 million at the box office. For those who are unfamiliar with the box office hauls of R-rated horror movies, that was quite an impressive draw for 1989.

Buhler is also busy rebooting another franchise that fans of the horror genre have taken quite well too. The Grudge is on the production schedule for a new take on the franchise, which actually originated from a Japanese horror film. But fans of the genre might be very well pleased to hear that horror icon Sam Raimi will be attached to the project.

“I delivered the final script [for The Grudge] in November and worked really hard to get it where it needed to be,” Buhler told Dread Central. “Finally, everyone involved has read it, and most importantly Sam [Raimi] and his producing partners are in agreement that it’s awesome. Something completely new but very much a Grudge movie. Everyone is super excited, and they are going out to directors now.”

Fans of the original franchise films were frightened out of their chairs when the first American version hit theaters back in 2004. On only a $10 million budget, the film was made and pulled in over $110 million in the U.S. and $187 million worldwide.

Horror film remakes like Pet Sematary and The Grudge have been quite a draw in recent years. It is unusual to reboot a horror franchise like The Grudge while its predecessor is still so young, but it is nevertheless happening more and more frequently. The Amazing Spiderman would be a good case and point for that topic.

Also on the reboot list for Buhler is Jacob’s Ladder and The Hell Within. There has been no word yet on when Pet Sematary will start production or be released in the U.S.

[Image via Paramount Pictures]

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