Pet Sematary II (Collector’s Edition) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Mary Lambert

Cast: Edward Furlong, Anthony Edwards, Clancy Brown

Release Date: February 25, 2020

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

Sometimes dead is better. But the shocking terror that plagued Ludlow, Maine, in Pet Sematary is still very much alive in this sequel to the 1989 hit film.

After the death of his wife, veterinarian Chase Matthews (Anthony Edwards, Zodiac) and his 13-year-old son, Jeff (Edward Furlong, Terminator: Dark Fate), move to Ludlow to rebuild their lives. Antagonized by the neighborhood kids, Jeff befriends another outsider, Drew Gilbert, who lives in fear of his cruel stepfather, Gus (Clancy Brown, John Dies At The End). After Gus cold-bloodedly shoots Drew’s beloved dog, the boys bury the body in the local Indian burial grounds – a place rumored to have the powers of resurrection. But when evil is awakened, the boys realize that sometimes you should just let dead dogs lie.

‘Pet Sematary Two’ tells the story of a veterinarian and his teenage son who move to the town of Ludlow, Maine in an attempt to start over following the tragic death of his movie star wife. But as the secrets of the town and the Indian burial ground that possesses unnatural abilities standing above the old pet sematary are once again revealed, the town quickly turns into bloody chaos as the unthinkable becomes possible. But sometimes, dead really is better. Once again directed by Mary Lambert who also directed the 1989 adaption of King’s famous novel and featuring a notable cast that includes Edward Furlong, Anthony Edwards and Clancy Brown, the 1992 sequel finally rises on Blu-ray for the first time ever.

‘Pet Sematary Two’ has always had drastically differing opinions among fans of the material. One can’t argue that it’s an incredibly different film from its predecessor and famous for King wanting his name removed, yet at the same time there’s something wonderfully fun and charming about it and the way it tackles the general concept from Stephen King’s novel (and film adaption) and takes it in a completely different direction. Instead almost intentionally choosing to have fun with the material and in return evolving into a goofy, bloody and almost tongue-in-cheek horror outing that’s very much its own film, even while once again directed by Mary Lambert who also helmed the original 1989 film that it follows (or serves as a companion piece to if you’d prefer). Arriving home on Blu-ray for the first time ever, Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of ‘Pet Sematary Two’ sports a rather gorgeous high definition video presentation from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, in addition to a nice and immersive DTS-HD multichannel soundtrack and a nice collection of brand new bonus goodies created specifically for this release to top it off such as an ‘Audio Commentary with director Mary Lambert’ and plenty more (please see the special features section in the technical specification coverage of the review below for more detailed information). Altogether it’ll likely make this surprisingly solid Blu-ray debut of ‘Pet Sematary Two’ well worth picking up for any fans of this goofy yet incredibly fun sequel.

Overall, ‘Pet Sematary Two’ may not have the universal love that its predecessor retains, but in its own right it’s a fun change of pace from returning director Mary Lambert that tweaks up the general concept and uses it in a far more goofy and over the top approach that ends up serving up a lot of fun in what almost becomes a pitch black horror comedy of sorts. Fellow fans of this sequel should be pretty thrilled with Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition release (and also its Blu-ray debut). Featuring generally impressive high definition video and audio presentations (with the 1080p high definition presentation sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative) combined with hours of brand new extras created just for this release, it shouldn’t disappoint and those who love the film should be thrilled to see the sequel finally make its way to Blu-ray with such a solid release which is highly recommended for fans.

VIDEO:

The Scream Factory Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of ‘Pet Sematary Two’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, featuring the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty great as a whole and offers a smooth, colorful and nicely detailed presentation from start to finish. It occasionally suffers a few rough edges, brief smudges and other very minor issues (likely an unavoidable source issue) but still looks quite impressive altogether and retains plenty of grain, pops and other welcome elements representative of the source as well. It holds up quite nicely even during the numerous darkly lit and fast moving moments, never causing anything onscreen to become noticeably affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a solid high definition video presentation that looks quite wonderful for the most part and is without a doubt the best that the film has ever looked; fans should definitely be pleased.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack makes a great compliment to the amusing and over the top fun onscreen, providing a clean, crisp and fairly active audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send music, action effects, creepy sounds and more throughout the various speakers whenever fitting, and never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible along the way. Overall, this is a nice 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that delivers quite nicely and shouldn’t disappoint the film’s fans.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Scream Factory Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of ‘Pet Sematary Two’ includes a nice collection of bonus content, nearly all of which is comprised of brand new extras created specifically for this release. Included is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Mary Lambert’, in addition to numerous brand new interviews with members of the cast and crew. The included interviews are: ‘Young and Brooding with Edward Furlong’ (running approximately 13 minutes in length), ‘Playing Over the Top with Clancy Brown’ (running 21 minutes), ‘My First Film with Jason McGuire’ (approximately 24 minutes), ‘A Thousand Dollar Bet with Special Effects Artist Steve Johnson’ (16 minutes) and ‘Orchestrated Grunge with Composer Mark Governor’ (29 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (90 seconds) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘Pet Sematary Two’ is Now Available to Own on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory!

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You can purchase your copy of the ‘Pet Sematary Two: Collector’s Edition’ by clicking on the Amazon cart icon below, or purchase it directly from Shout Factory HERE!

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