By Chris Kavan - 03/20/19 at 09:58 AM CT
A short list from the MPAA Ratings Board this week - and an even shorter list of movies to talk about. Just one wide release to speak of - but at least it's one I am looking forward to - the remake of Stephen King's Pet Sematary. The author has had a great run of impressive big-screen adaptations (or steaming adaptations) of late and I'm hoping this is another winner. Besides that horror fix there's just the usual suspects of a few limited films. Hopefully things will pick up over the next few weeks.
Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, but for a long time finding a decent adaptation of his work was mostly futile. Even The Shining, while an excellent horror film, is a crap adaptation. Surprisingly it's his more non-horror films like Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption that are the best. But recently there has been a resurgence in getting horror on the big screen and King is a prime target. It was a massive hit, and Netflix did great justice to Gerald's Game - I'll admit that Dark Tower was a big miss, but that hasn't stopped an onslaught of new projects. One of those is Pet Sematary. It recently premiered as SWSX to mostly positive reviews - but directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer don't have issue with changing things up. I think the 1989 version is actually one of the better films (I found the character of Zelda, particularly traumatizing when I first saw it) from King's work. So I look forward to this new version but also wonder if it can truly improve upon the book or film - there is talk the final act veers widely from the source material. I'm willing to give it a shot, if for no other reason than supporting it means that hopefully we get bigger and better King adaptations in the future. Already I'm looking forward to It - Part 2 and Doctor Sleep (a sequel to The Shining) and The Talisman as well - good things come to those who wait (and ride out junk like The Mangler and Night Shift). Rated R for horror violence, bloody images and some language.
That is the only major film this week, but be sure to check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
BENJAMIN
Rated R for some drug and sexual material.
THE FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL
Rated R for disturbing and violent content, bloody images, sexual material, graphic nudity, and language.
PET SEMATARY
Rated R for horror violence, bloody images and some language.
SOMEONE GREAT
Rated R for drug content, drinking, sexual material and language throughout.
THEM THAT FOLLOW
Rated R for some disturbing violence.
WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY
Rated PG-13 for sexual content.
THE WIND
Rated R for violence/disturbing images and some sexuality.
