Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, a new prequel movie in the Stephen King horror franchise, is coming to Paramount+ just in time for Halloween. The movie will debut on Friday, Oct. 6, exclusively on the Paramount-owned streaming platform. It will be part of the “Paramount+ Peak Screaming” collection, a curated selection of fan-favorite horror movies and iconic Halloween episodes from beloved TV shows.
The official synopsis for Pet Sematary: Bloodlines states: “In 1969, a young Jud Crandall has dreams of leaving his hometown of Ludlow, Maine behind, but soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history that will forever keep him connected to Ludlow. Banding together, Jud and his childhood friends must fight an ancient evil that has gripped Ludlow since its founding, and once unearthed has the power to destroy everything in its path. Based on the untold chapter from Pet Sematary, Stephen King’s chilling novel, PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES is a terrifying prequel and the untold story of why sometimes dead is better.”
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Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is directed by Lindsey Anderson Beer, from a script she wrote with Jeff Buhler. Notably, Buhler wrote Pet Sematary (2019), from a story by Matt Greenberg. The film’s cast includes Jackson White, Forrest Goodluck, Jack Mulhern, Henry Thomas, Natalie Alyn Lind and Isabella Star LaBlanc, Pam Grier, and David Duchovny. White portrays the young Jud Crandall, a role originated by Fred Gwynne (The Munsters) in the original Pet Sematary film in 1989. Multi-Emmy-winning actor John Lithgow portrayed the character in the 2019 remake.
Interestingly, King previously spoke to Entertainment Weekly about his 1983 Pet Sematary novel — which the film series is adapted from — and he confirmed the rumors that it was considered too scary to publish. “No, I mean it’s true,” he told the outlet. “I listened to it last year when I was down here in Florida walking on the beach with the dog. Michael C. Hall [Dexter] did the audiobook. I was curious about it. You know, I hadn’t been near it in 20, 25 years. So I listened to it, and thought, ‘My God, this is just awful. It’s just as dark as can be.’”
He later added, “I just had the greatest time writing the book until I was done with it. And I read it over, and I said to myself,’”This is awful. This is really f—ing terrible.’ Not that it was badly written, necessarily. But all that stuff about the death of kids. It was close to me, because my kids lived on that road.”
