PET SEMATARY: Bloodlines

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

Ludlow, Maine, 1969 – The voice of a young Jud Crandall (Jackson White) talks about how the Pet Sematary was where he and many other learned about death. Originally used by the Mi’kmaq tribe to call upon animal spirits to ward off evil, it became used by the town’s inhabitants to bury their loved ones for more time with them, as the evil in the woods whispered and manipulated them.

A farmer named Bill Baterman (David Duchovny) drags the body of his son Timmy (Jack Mulhern), who was killed in the Vietnam War, down into the Pet Sematary. After some hesitation, Bill buries Timmy in the dirt. Moments later, their pet dog Hendrix senses something and digs near Timmy’s grave, where a hand bursts out and grabs the dog.

Jud lives with his parents Dan (Henry Thomas) and Kathy (Samantha Mathis), and is dating a young woman named Norma (Natalie Alyn Lind). He is set to leave Ludlow to join the Peace Corps in Michigan, which would make it the first time a Crandall has left Ludlow. While going into town with Norma, Jud runs into Bill and finds a photo of himself as a kid with Timmy and another local young man named Manny Rivers (Forrest Goodluck), who lives nearby with his sister Donna (Isabella LaBlanc) and also has aspirations for leaving Ludlow. Bill makes it seem like Timmy has been honorably discharged and has returned home.

At night, Jud joins Dan at the ice rink for one last hangout before he leaves. Outside, Mayor Hannibal Benson (Matt Holland) and Officer Marjorie Washburn (Pam Grier) discuss the open grave that was found in the Pet Sematary.

The next day, Jud and Norma head off for their trip, but they are stopped short when a crow crashes into Jud’s windshield. They then find Hendrix in front of the car, looking filthy and growling at them. They walk the dog back to the Baterman house, where they see Timmy for the first time behind the window. He tells Jud of the horrors he has seen in war, moments before Hendrix runs up and bites Norma’s arm, causing a bloody wound. Jud gets the dog off and takes Norma to the hospital.

Manny and Donna smoke a joint in the crops outside their house as they discuss leaving Ludlow. Manny appears to hear noises from deep in the crops and sees blood dripping off a sunflower before he trips and impales his hand on a large thorn.

Jud runs into Manny outside the hospital and tries to talk to him about Timmy. Manny suggests that Timmy may be suffering from PTSD in the war. When Jud returns to the Baterman home, he finds Timmy standing above a hog that’s been gored to death, before seeing Bill and telling him about Hendrix. Meanwhile, Timmy is in the basement, writing down the names of several people in Ludlow with what appears to be blood. He whispers to himself about killing them before they kill him, while peeling the skin off his fingertips.

Later that night, Marjorie goes home and sees Hendrix there, with Timmy walking up and mocking her father’s suicide. She calls Benson to tell him about this before Hendrix attacks her. At the same time, Manny and Donna are at a party together when Timmy shows up and starts trying to dance with Donna without music. When he gets too close, Manny tackles Timmy off of his sister.

Marjorie survives her attack after killing Hendrix. She joins Dan, Benson, and Sheriff Anderson (Christian Jadah) at a diner, as they seem to know what is going on with the Batermans. Manny then goes to the Crandall house to talk to Jud about what is happening. Donna is then stalked and attacked by Timmy at home, where he stabs her and chases her into the crops before grabbing her.

Jud and Manny go to a priest (Vincent Leclerc), who tells them about the history of Ludlow and the Pet Sematary. In 1674, the Mi’kmaq tribe lived on the land. Ludlow (Noah Labranche), for whom the town was named, was a settler who disappeared. His men found him after he was buried in the Pet Sematary, feasting on human flesh before he is killed again for good. Jud confronts Dan with this knowledge, and he learns that the ancestors of the town’s inhabitants (the ones on Timmy’s list) have always guarded the town’s secret in the hopes to keep others out of there.

Timmy buries Donna in the Sematary, leading her to rise up as another undead monstrosity. She goes to Norma’s hospital room and reveals her decaying skin to her. Donna runs after Norma and kills a doctor before cornering her in the main office, where she starts to choke her. Jud later finds out Norma is in trouble while Dan tries to round up Benson, Anderson, and Marjorie to find and kill Timmy.

Manny joins the group to try and find Donna. Even Bill knows that he has brought a terrible evil into the town and that his son must stay dead. They enter the Baterman home. Timmy kills Benson, Anderson, and Marjorie, while Donna impales Dan with his own rifle after he tried to kill her. Jud mourns his father but Manny ends up shooting his undead sister in the eye to put her down for good.

Jud and Manny join Bill as he guides them through a tunnel, which is also where Norma has been left tied up while the hole she’s in is filling up with mud. Timmy finds the three, and when Bill attempts to put his son down, Timmy ends up disemboweling Bill. Jud and Manny resurface into the swamp, where Timmy goes after Jud and attacks him. Before Timmy can drown him, Manny fires a flare at Timmy’s head, killing him for good. Meanwhile, Norma breaks herself out of her pit and runs back to Jud.

In the aftermath, Jud and Norma stay with Kathy while Manny leaves Ludlow for good. Jud’s closing narration states that “sometimes, dead is better”, and that he is staying behind to continue his father’s work of keeping the evil out of town. He ends by warning listeners to “stay the fuck out of Ludlow”.

The film is a prequel to the 2019 version of "Pet Sematary", focusing on a young Jud Crandall as he first becomes aware of the evil that haunts the town of Ludlow.

Farmer Bill Baterman buries his son Timmy in the Sematary after he dies in Vietnam. Timmy returns as a flesh-eating monster, targeting the families of Ludlow that have kept the town's dark secret and tried to steer people away from the Sematary. Timmy kills Donna Rivers and turns her undead. Jud teams up with his father Dan and other members of the town's families to kill Timmy, with Bill and Donna's brother Manny joining.

Timmy kills Mayor Benson, Sheriff Anderson, and mail carrier Marjorie Anderson, while Donna kills Dan before Manny shoots her in the eye so she stays dead. Timmy traps Jud's girlfriend Norma underground before he tries to kill Jud. Manny kills Timmy by firing a flare at his face. Norma frees herself.

Jud and Norma abandon their plans to join the Peace Corps to stay in Ludlow and continue protecting people from the curse. Manny ends up leaving Ludlow for good.