Filming has officially begun on the adaptation of Stephen King's Pet Sematary from director Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes). He announced the start of filming with a behind-the-scenes photo from set.

Based on the novel by King, Pet Sematary tells the creepy tale of a family attempting to deal with a personal tragedy. After Louis Creed discovers a cursed burial ground that his neighbor Jud Crandall insists can bring the dead back to life, he attempts to use it to his advantage. Unfortunately, he discovers that any corpses reanimated in the Pet Sematary are no longer their former selves, but vessels for demonic forces. Director Mary Lambert adapted the novel back in 1989, and now Widmyer is adapting it yet again, this time starring Jason Clarke, John Lithgow, and Amy Seimetz. And to commence the movie's first official day of filming, Widmyer released a behind-the-scenes photo taken on location.

To kick off filming, Widmyer announced the first day of shooting on Pet Sematary on his personal Twitter account with a behind-the-scenes photo and the caption: "Day one." The photo is of Widmyer holding a clapboard branded with artwork from the original Pet Sematary novel, and it's taken on location in a forest setting in Toronto, which is meant to double as the movie's rural Maine setting. And though the photo isn't exactly ripe with details regarding what scene they might be shooting, the crew appears to be shooting in or around the titular Pet Sematary itself, given the exterior location.


This upcoming adaptation of Pet Sematary follows a running string of King adaptations released/slated for release between 2017 and 2019 in what is unofficially dubbed the "Kingassaince." With four movies and two television series adaptations released in 2017 alone, as well as five movies (including It: Chapter Two and the Shining sequel Doctor Sleep) and three television series (The Dark Tower, Castle Rock, a Hulu original series inspired by King's stories, and The Outsider) currently in development, Pet Sematary stands to capitalize on the popularity. Though King has been one of the most celebrated writers since his debut novel Carrie in 1974, adaptations of his work have rarely been as consistently well-received as they have been in the past year.

Pet Sematary will undoubtedly benefit from being released in the same year as It: Chapter Two, which will likely be as financially successful as its predecessor, but it's anyone's guess as to whether or not Widmyer can mimic the same critical success that director Andy Muschietti found with IT. To date, Widmyer has directed a number of shorts, independent movies, and TV episodes, including MTV's Scream, so it'll be interesting to see whether or not he can measure up to Muschietti, whose background before IT included the feature-length horror movie Mama with Jessica Chastain.