Summary

  • Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is the fourth adaptation of Stephen King's novel and attempts to delve deeper into its mythology.
  • The prequel is set in 1969, 50 years before the 2019 remake, and takes creative liberties by alluding to the Vietnam War instead of World War II.
  • The fictionalized version of Ludlow in the movie is inspired by the real town in Maine where King wrote the novel.

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines becomes the fourth take on King's novel as it was also preceded by 1989's Pet Sematary (featuring King as screenwriter) and its 1992 sequel Pet Sematary Two. Breathing new life in the source material, the 2019 movie was met with polarizing critics' reviews but still proved to be a box-office success. Taking on a new storyline altogether, Bloodlines attempts to tap into the novel's mythology further.

The 2019 Pet Sematary revolved around a family chancing upon a graveyard behind their new home that is capable of resurrecting the dead. While the Jason Clarke-led horror film was faithful to the novel, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines finds an all-new cast taking over the narrative. Jackson White leads the ensemble as a younger version of Jud Crandall, the ominous character played by John Lithgow in 2019. Seasoned genre actors like David Duchovny and Pam Grier also the Pet Sematary: Bloodlines cast with screenwriter Lindsey Anderson Beer making her directorial debut. Despite it following the 2019 movie, the exact setting and timeline of Bloodlines is different.

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Is Set In 1969, 50 Years Before Paramount's 2019 Remake

A picture of a man looking sideways and a boy wearing a skull mask and looking upwards in Pet Semetary Bloodlines

Pet Sematary was set in 2019, the same year as its release. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, on the other hand, serves as a prequel with its events taking place five decades before Pet Sematary. This is an interesting creative choice, considering how Pet Sematary: Bloodlines comes off as more of a prequel to the 1983 novel than the Paramount movie remake. But the chronological change makes sense when keeping in mind what happens in the movie. For instance, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines changes Stephen King’s original book by alluding to the Vietnam War (instead of the Second World War as King wrote).

In King's original book, an older Jud warns the book's characters from reanimating the dead by telling them a story about his friend Timmy Baterman. Killed in action during the Second World War, his father tried bringing him back to the dead but with terrorizing consequences. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines takes inspiration from this story with Jack Mulhern playing Timmy, a young boy who loses his life fighting in Vietnam. Considering that the novel was set in the 1980s, nearly four decades had ed since Timmy's ing. And with the 2019 Pet Sematary set in the 21st century, recreating Timmy's death and its aftermath in 1969 seemed more apt and timely.

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Is Set In A Fictionalized Version Of Ludlow, Maine

A wolf gazing with cold eyes on a road with a Ludlow signboard behind him in Pet Semetary Bloodlines

Much like most movies inspired by Stephen King’s fiction, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is set in the state of Maine. More specifically, the action takes place in Ludlow, an actual Maine town with a population of less than 500 people (2020 US Census). Even if it might seem like a sleepy town, King’s novel was set in a heavily fictionalized version of Ludlow with the author fabricating its ominous mythology. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is set in the same fictionalized version of Ludlow. It’s also possible that this version of Ludlow was inspired by Maine’s Orrington, the same town where King actually wrote the novel in the first place.