Warning: Major spoilers for Pet Sematary: Bloodlines below!

Summary

• Pet Sematary: Bloodlines delves into the origins of the burial ground, explaining the Native American tribe's belief in animal spirits protecting them from the evil in the woods.
• Timmy's resurrection and subsequent killing spree in the town reveals the horrifying consequences of burying someone in the cemetery's "sour" ground.
• The film sets up the events of the original Pet Sematary by showing Jud's decision to stay in Ludlow and the tragic fate that awaits him.

Stephen King movie finds Jud as he's about to leave Ludlow with girlfriend Norma (Natalie Alyn Lind), only to get sucked into the mystery surrounding Timmy Batterman's (Jack Mulhern), his former friend who has returned from Vietnam. Timmy begins tormenting and eventually killing the locals, and Jud discovers Timmy's father Bill (David Duchovny) resurrected his son by burying him in the local pet cemetery.

Jud also learns the descendants of the founding families know about the evil in Ludlow's forests, and they band together to stop Timmy. In the finale, they arrive at the Batterman's home to stop him once and for all, only for Timmy to kill them one by one, including his own father. It's ultimately down to Jud and best friend Manny (Forrest Goodluck), and after a bloody struggle, they finally destroy him. Jud and Norman decide to stay in Ludlow after all, while Manny finally escapes the town.

Who Built The Pet Sematary & Why?

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines goes into great detail (arguably too much) about the origins of the titular burial ground. While researching the town's past, Jud and Manny head to the local church, where the priest hands them some unearthed diaries from 1674. This details the settlers who founded Ludlow as they explore Mi'kmaq territory and stumble across the accursed burial ground. The settlers discover that the natives have largely left the area due to crop rot, and learn from a local chief why the pet cemetery was built.

The tribe believed that animal spirits would help protect them from the evil in the woods - while the prequel doesn't mention the creature by name, this is the Wendigo from Stephen King's Pet Sematary novel - which is also the reason they wear animal masks. Despite their intentions, any animal or person buried in the "sour" ground returns to life possessed by the Wendigo's spirit, which in Timmy's case lets him read the minds of the locals and use their darkest secrets against them.

How Timmy Is Finally Killed In Bloodlines

Bloodlines adapts a chapter from King's novel, where old Jud recounts the story of Timmy Batterman, who returns to life after being killed in World War 2. The prequel updates the setting to Vietnam, where Timmy and his pet dog torment the locals. Pretty soon this escalates to murder, and the descendants of the town's founding fathers - including Jud's dad Dan (Henry Thomas) - recognize the telltale signs of Timmy having been brought back by the cemetery.

This cumulates in an Alien-inspired showdown, where Timmy kills the posse that has come to put him down. They also find that he's built an elaborate series of tunnels underneath his home. Jud is told the only way to put down the resurrected is to shoot them in the eyes, but when it comes time for Bill to shoot Timmy, he can't do it. Bill is killed, and it's up to the wounded Manny to fire a flare into Timmy, which finally kills him.

Bloodlines' 1674 Flashback Reveals How The Town Was Founded

The 1674 flashback builds on the lore introduced in the 2019 film and explains a lot about Ludlow that was previously left ambiguous. In addition to explaining why the cemetery was built, it reveals the town's founders. They were on the trail of a settler named Ludlow, who was tasked with finding fertile land in Mi'kmaq territory. When he goes missing, they follow his trail and that's where they find the cemetery.

They also find Ludlow himself, who died sometime after sending his last letter, telling them that death was different in this area and is a "gate" to eternal life. A local chief explains to the settlers that despite being warned against doing so, Ludlow's men buried him in the cemetery, and he soon returned as a cannibalistic monster whom the settlers have to put down by shooting him in the eyes.

The survivors - which included Jud's ancestor, Reverend Crandall - went on to found the town. They named it Ludlow as a way of "remind them of their sins." When they felt that God offered little protection against the evil emanating from the words, they turned to pagan symbols and spirals to help ward it off too, none of which seemed to help. Jud's father Dan explains that the evil gets into people's minds and messes with them, which is much easier to do with the dead.

Why Jud Stays In Town But Manny Leaves

Dan also explains the evil in Ludlow is like a sickness, and there are those in town like himself intent on stopping it from spreading. Dan's own father tasked him with keeping Ludlow safe, but despite his best efforts to get Jud to leave before this responsibility fell to him, his son was still lured into it. After all the protectors of the town - including Dan and Majorie (Pam Grier) - are killed by Timmy, Jud decides to pick up his father's burden and stay behind with Norma.

On the flipside, his friend Manny felt he could never escape Ludlow, even after his sister Donna (Isabella Star LaBlanc) encouraged him to try. Donna herself is murdered by Timmy, who resurrects her in the sour Earth. After she commits some killings of her own in the local hospital and kidnaps Norma, it's left to Manny to finish his sister by shooting her in the eye. After narrowly surviving the final encounter with Timmy, Manny is last seen speeding out of town, giving the Ludlow sign the finger as he es.

Was Jud Cursed To Stay In Ludlow?

Early on in Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, Jud and Norma have packed their truck and are driving out of Ludlow. Unfortunately, a crow crashes into their windshield, which then leads them to find Timmy's dog. It's bringing the injured animal back to Timmy that kicks the story in motion, but in hindsight, it feels like Jud was almost destined to never leave. It feels like evil in the town itself conspired to keep him there, and that it wasn't his fate to lead a normal life, which makes Jud's eventual fate in the 2019 movie all the more tragic.

How Bloodlines Sets Up Stephen King's Pet Sematary Story

Bloodlines largely tells its own story, and while the option may have been there for John Lithgow to reprise his role as older Jud as a framing device, the prequel sadly doesn't take it. That said, it has a few nods to the 2019 film, with "Sometimes dead is better" being thrown out a couple of times.

It also has the recurring motif of trucks speeding past on the road, with Jud himself narrowly avoiding one during a nighttime scene. The last scene finds Jud on his porch reflecting on what's happened, but his warning to "Stay the f*** out of Ludlow" is cut off by a ing truck, which, of course, is what sets off the tragic events of the original book and movie.

Will There Be Another Pet Sematary Prequel?

While the need for another Pet Sematary movie could be debated, Bloodlines is an enjoyable pulpy horror flick that's arguably better than the 2019 adaptation. Given that there are decades between the events of the prequel and the original, there's plenty of time for another ill-advised burial to have taken place between the two movies, This could stretch credulity somewhat, though, and it would be odd to think Jud was some kind of seasoned zombie slayer given how he's portrayed in the 2019 version.

Maybe the better option for the franchise's future would be a prequel. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines already laid the foundation for this with the flashback, and another story could explore the building of the town as its founders deal with the consequences of being near the cemetery. There's also room to explore their interactions with the local tribe. Of course, another movie will be dependent on how well Paramount+'s prequel is received.