Pet Sematary was my first Stephen King story and while I have my quibbles with it the book retains a special place in my heart. Where the first adaptation failed me was in both the acting and directing. It was almost completely faithful to the source material, but was so amateurish in execution that I have a love-hate relationship with it. I respect it's fidelity, but can't help cringing whenever anyone opens their mouth or when I witness a scene that common sense would have dictated be shot at night. Thus the prospect of this movie had me excited as it offered a chance to see one of my favorite works of gothic horror brought to life in a more competent manner. For the most part it succeeded. This version takes more liberties, but it's so much better made and performed that it's easily the more watchable of the two. Yet, I still remain unconvinced that Pet Sematary can ever really work as a film. This remake bypasses all of the character development and drama to get to the bloody final act as quickly as possible. There's no passion put into the build-up. A shame because that's where the novel shined. Plus it just makes this movie largely a bore as it's this material that makes up the majority of the running time. However, whereas the book took a serious nosedive in quality the moment Louis Creed set out to resurrect that which should have remained dead, this adaptation finds new life in that previously uncompelling territory. The directors show a level of enthusiasm for the more violent content that's largely missing from the rest of the movie. The film really does get better the closer it draws to a close. Weak jump scares aside, there are some genuinely creepy and tense moments. The tone is incredibly bleak and the new ending is much more satisfying than the one Stephen King came up with all those years ago. In the end it's not enough to save Pet Sematary from mediocrity, but at least it ensures that it does get interesting to watch at some point. It's hard to really fault the people behind this for trying to condense so much of the novel's less traditionally exciting material down in order to focus on the more gory and supernatural elements that actually sell tickets. The problem is that they only make up a small part of the source material. Which makes me question if it's legitimately possible to make an enjoyable Pet Sematary adaptation that stays true to what the bulk of the book had to offer considering it's largely comprised of exposition and build-up. Ultimately, I feel this was a step in the right direction, but the fact that it favors generic scare tactics over staying true to the heart and soul of the story shows that we still have a long way to go.