IT and Pet Sematary - the perfect spooky combo!
WEEKLY FAVORITES - STEPHEN KING EDITION
Hey spooky dudes! It's time for my weekly favorites! And as you can see above, I got myself a fancy new graphic to tell you just that! It's Canada Day long weekend here and it's a rainy one, so I'll be hiding inside all weekend reading and watching horror flicks. But would you expect anything less?
Here's what I watched this week:
- Splinter (2008)
- Pet Sematary (1989)
- Desolation (2017)
- The Shining (1980)
- IT (2017)
To be completely honest it was a pretty sub-par week. Splinter was pretty good, a fun creature feature with some great effects. Desolation, I straight up have no recollection of watching, it just didn't stay with me at all after I watched it. But it was a Stephen King week for me, which I usually do when I need comfort. And while I'm sure I've talked to death these movies, I'm going to talk about them again. JUST IN CASE....someone out there hasn't watched them yet. Or wants to revisit them!
Pet Sematary, released the same year I was born, is one of my favorite King adaptations and also one of my favorite books. Directed by Mary Lambert and written by King, Pet Sematary tells the story of the Creed family. They move to Maine into a beautiful house across from a very dangerous and busy highway. Louis, played by Dale Midkiff, quickly befriends his neighbor Jud, played by Fred Gwynne. Jud takes the Creed family on a tour of the pet cemetery which is a plot of land near their homes. Unfortunately, this frightens their older child Ellie who fears for her cat's future. When Ellie and her mother, Rachel (Denise Crosby) and her brother Gage go visit the grandparents, her cat gets hit by a truck on the highway outside the Creed house. Jud teaches Louis the real magic behind the pet cemetery and with the cat brought back to life, Ellie won't have to know her cat ever died in the first place. But if something is brought back from the dead, is it really alive again? Or is there something menacing living underneath the skin?
A phenomenal movie all the way around that does pure justice to the original novel. The casting is spot on, even with little Gage, who is played by Miko Hughes. And I hate little kids in horror movies. There's so many great standout moments in Pet Sematary but I think we can all agree that Zelda is terrifying. I posted a video of Zelda on my twitter while I was watching it and everyone freaked. It's pure terror. And while Pet Sematary is not really a scary movie anymore, it's aged like a fine wine, Zelda remains nightmare worthy.
The sets are incredible - the beautiful big house that the Creeds live in, the actual cemetery itself, the Native american burial ground. It's just a gorgeous film. There's also a standout cameo by my man Stephen King, who plays a priest.
I implore you to re-watch this film if you haven't in awhile, and if you've never seen it....GET ON IT...because sometimes...dead is better.....
Next up is IT, the 2017 version. Now, I'm guessing there's not a lot of you out there who haven't seen this movie yet, but if you are one of those people....guuuurl....watch IT immediately. I saw it in theaters three times and have since watched it about 5 times on DVD. I haven't actually been able to write a proper review for IT because it leaves me at a loss for words. I just get too excited and start rambling.
Obviously, IT is based on the original novel by Stephen King and was directed by the ever so talented Andy Muschietti. In contains a near perfect casting and creates a basically perfect film. Like I said, I can never put into words how great this movie is so instead I will list my favorites things:
- The opening Georgie scene where the camera watches from above as Pennywise's arm comes out of the sewer reaching for a crying, bloody Georgie.
- The perfect soundtrack filled with amazing 80's songs;
- All the New Kids on the Block references;
- The scene with the kids in the garage where Pennywise comes through the projector;
- How this is one of the only movies that gets what it's like being a kid;
- The scene where Pennywise waves with a cut off arm in the bushes;
- "Derry started as a beaver trapping camp." "Still is! Am I right, boys?"
- The balloon in the library scene;
- The ending where the kids leave one by one, in the order that they die in the book....spoiler alert I guess...but COME ON THAT WAS AMAZING AND SO DEPRESSING;
- Beverly fucking Marsh.
I'm honestly just at a loss for words how much I love this film, and even after seeing it almost ten times I still can't write a coherent review of it. I'm incredibly excited for part 2 which just started filming and I'm in love with the adult casting choices.
Just....go watch this film. Watch it 100 times. It's incredible and we were so lucky to get something like this
