‘Harry Potter’ Star’s 101-Minute Stephen King Reboot Officially Heads to Free Streaming
John Lithgow, who plays Albus Dumbledore in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series, previously starred in the 2019 remake of Stephen King's Pet Sematary, which is set to arrive on the free streaming platform Kanopy from 25 September 2026. The film, the second adaptation of King's 1983 novel, received a mixed critical reception on release, with reviewers arguing it favoured jump scares over the slow-building dread of the source material and altered key plot points.
Directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer from a Jeff Buhler screenplay, the 101-minute film follows the Creed family as they relocate from Boston to rural Maine and discover a burial ground behind their new home capable of resurrecting the dead. It holds a 58% score on Rotten Tomatoes and also stars Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz alongside Lithgow. It will join several other titles debuting on Kanopy the same day, including The Great Lillian Hall, Where Angels Fear to Tread and Doctor Who: Series 4, though the ad-free service is only accessible via participating libraries and institutions.
In short
- Pet Sematary (2019), starring Dumbledore actor John Lithgow, heads to Kanopy
- Free streaming begins 25 September 2026 via participating libraries
- Film had a mixed critical reception, holding 58% on Rotten Tomatoes
Explained simply
Stephen King’s Pet Sematary is a 1983 horror novel about a family who move to rural Maine and discover a burial ground that can bring the dead back to life. Its story explores the consequences of grief and of trying to reverse death.
The 2019 film, directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, was the second screen adaptation of the novel. It stars Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz as members of the Creed family, with John Lithgow in a supporting role; Lithgow is also due to play Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series.
The remake received mixed reviews, with some critics comparing its jump scares and changes to the novel’s more gradual build-up of dread. Kanopy is a free, ad-free streaming service available through participating libraries and institutions, so access depends on whether a reader’s library provides it.
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