PET SEMATARY, from Paramount Pictures.
Pet Sematary arrives in cinemas on 4th April. The film, directed by the duo behind Starry Eyes, Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, is a tone perfect adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. It follows the Creed family as they move into Ludlow and find themselves inexplicably entwined with a mysterious and deadly burial ground behind their property, one that has regenerative powers. Anything that comes back, doesn’t come back the same.
One creature that doesn’t came back the same is the Creed’s beloved pet cat Winston ‘Church’ Churchill. He’s a chilling and menacing figure, proving that cats can be terrifying as well as adorable. It also got us thinking about other mean movie moggies, here’s a round-up of our favourite killer kitties.
Church – Pet Sematary (2019)
We’ll start our list with the aforementioned Church. Played by a combination of six Maine Coon cats, Church is the object of Ellie Creed’s affection. He’s a mild-mannered fluffy feline until a fatal encounter with an Omnico truck leaves him missing one of his nine lives. Church is then unknowingly brought back by Louis Creed, but now Church is mean, smelly, and very vicious. His kills start small and traditional with a bird, slowly tormenting it whilst it’s still alive. Soon though, Church is helps a reanimated Creed child dispatch elderly neighbour Jud Crandall.
Church – Pet Sematary (1989)
2019’s Church isn’t the character’s first outing on the big screen. The first adaptation of Stephen King’s novel arrived in 1989. Rather than a Maine Coon, Church was this time played by a British Blue Shorthair. In the novel, the cat is described as being black so it’s interesting that both movie outings have chosen to go in a different direction. This version of Church is just as mean, but much more vocal. He growls, moans and hisses his way through the second half of the film, and also helps with the killing of poor old Jud.
Jonesy – Alien (1979)
By far the most famous cat in film is the Nostromo’s Jones, or Jonesy to his friends. The orange tabby technically doesn’t murder anyone or anything. He does however allow all the crew of the Nostromo to be brutally murdered by the deadly xenomorph. Clearly fulfilling the cat stereotype of only looking out for himself, Jones clearly makes a pact with the creature, perhaps something along the lines of, ‘don’t eat me and I’ll get you some decent food’. The promise is kept as he lures poor Brett into a secluded part of the ship and watches on contentedly as the xenomorph devours the unlucky engineer.
Mr. Whiskers – The Voices (2014)
Another cat that is too clever to get himself directly involved in murder is The Voices’ Mr. Whiskers. Mr Whiskers, another orange tabby, is the pet of Ryan Reynolds’ Jerry. The cat, whom appears to be Scottish given his accent, heavily encourages Jerry to murder his therapist and several work colleagues. Outside of his murder plots, Mr. Whiskers has an extreme potty mouth and enjoys watching an excessive amount of animal pornography.
Scar – The Lion King (1994)
He’ll be back on the prowl later this year in the photo-realistic remake where he’ll be voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor, but Scar rose to infamy back in 1994’s The Lion King. Back then, he was voiced brilliantly by Jeremy Irons and is one of the most iconic villains in film, feline or otherwise. Scar is also by far the most dastardly on this list. He spends his days planning how to become King, and seizes his chance to tick off two murders in one as he commits both regicide and fratricide when he offs his brother Mufasa. He also attempts to kill of his nephew Simba, but is thwarted at the last moment.
Pet Sematary arrives in cinemas on 4th April 2019. Read our glowing five star review here.
