Pet Semetary: Bloodlines Plot Summary
The novel Pet Semetary by Stephen King was released in 1983. A feature-length adaptation would follow by decades end. A sequel would come a few years later, and of course, a reboot would come in 2019.
But now streaming on Paramount+ is the new prequel to the franchise Pet Semetary: Bloodlines. A film that takes the younger version of Jud Crandall and puts him at center stage as he learns the secrets of the town of Ludlow, Maine
What happens in Bloodlines?
Bloodlines takes place in 1969, during the height of the Vietnam War. Jud Crandall and his girlfriend Norma are leaving behind Ludlow and joining the Peace Corps. Upon his exit from the town he grew up in, Norma and Jud encounter a dog that belongs to Jud’s former friend Timmy and his father Bill.
The dog looks sick and doesn’t seem to be in good shape. Jed and Norma decide to return him to Timmy and Bill. News had gotten out that Timmy had returned from the town, and Bill and Jud have a chance encounter, but Bill has a very off-putting sense about him.
When we see Timmy for the first time, he looks pale and zombie-like. As viewers and anyone knowledgeable about the original storyline of Pet Semetary, you know that Timmy is clearly the vessel of an evil entity who will harm anyone he crosses paths with.
What happens in the film’s opening scene?
We are able to connect the dots with Timmy if we can tell what’s going on in the film’s first few minutes. Pet Semetary: Bloodlines opens up with Bill and his dog burying something out in the woods.
As he kneels down next to the giant dirt mound, a few beats pass, then suddenly a hand reaches out and grabs the dog. It then cuts to black, and the opening credits begin. And so once we see Timmy for the first time, we’re able to figure out that Bill has utilized the infamous burial ground to bring back to life his dead son.
How is Jud introduced to the burial ground?
Jud’s father, Dan, has a strong fatherly urge to get his son out of Ludlow, Maine. But once Jud returns, hours after he has said his farewell, Dan is a little apprehensive towards his son; it’s almost something out of frustration.
We learn now about a system in Ludlow with the significant families in town, who know of the cursed history and the ancient burial ground that was discovered when the settlers arrived there.
One of the families is Jud’s, the Crandall’s. Dan wants his son out of town so he can maybe live a life far away from something like the issues in Ludlow.
Dan must cave in and show his son the horrors of the burial ground after he learns of what happened to Timmy. Thus turning all of this into a “sins of the father” arc between Jud and Dan. And even the same arc with Timmy and Bill
How does Pet Semetary: Bloodlines end?
As the film goes on, Timmy has altercations with other people who know him best in town. Jud and Timmy’s other estranged friend, Manny, had a standoff with him at a party that involved his sister Donna.
In the middle of all this, we learn that Timmy actually returned from the war alive but couldn’t cope with the reality of post-war life, so he hung himself. Donna eventually gets turned by a bite mark from Timmy, shows up at the hospital, kills everyone there, and kidnaps Norma.
The locals who have dealt with this issue in the past know they have to go to Bill’s house and kill Timmy.
The attack on Bill’s house is a slaughter. Donna kills Dan after stabbing him with a rifle. Then Manny must kill his own sister, shooting her in the eye. Jud rescues Norma from a dark tunnel underneath the house. Timmy attacks Manny outside by a pond, but Manny is able to utilize the gun he has and shoots and kills Timmy.
Will there be a sequel to Pet Semetary: Bloodlines?
Well, there already is, and it’s the 1989 original film! However, the movie ends with acknowledging what’s to come. Jud, now with his father gone, is in the exact same position that Dan was in earlier in the film. He sits on his porch daily and nightly, smoking and watching over the town. Jud now does the same.
We now know that his choices in Bloodlines will come back to haunt him when he’s older in Pet Semetary (1989). Jud, once a man with a bright future, now stays in Ludlow with a grim outlook. Manny drives out of Ludlow, flipping off the welcoming sign.
All of this with a voiceover from Jud that says, “We can only take care of the fucked-up land we created. A man grows what he can and tends it.” Then he utters the famous tagline of the movie, “Sometimes dead is better; stay the fuck out of Ludlow.”
An eighteen-wheeler then drives by in the final shot, loudly and fast. A nod to the tragedy that would come years later in the original movie.
Read More: Pet Semetary: Bloodlines Movie Review