One of the most memorable and terrifying scenes from the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King's Pet Sematary is, without a doubt, the "Zelda scenes". Zelda, the sister of Rachael Creed, who suffers from spinal meningitis, was perfectly portrayed by male actor, Andrew Hubatsek. We've recently learned that the memorable character will make a return in the upcoming adaptation.
Actress Alyssa Brooke Levine has been cast in the role of the new Zelda, and directors Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly, teasing the character's return.
“It’s more accurate to the book, I’ll just say that,” Widmyer revealed, referring to the handling of Zelda. “In the original movie, it’s a 21-year-old guy in drag playing it, and in the book, as you recall, it’s a 10-year-old girl.”
“You go, ‘How do you top Zelda?’" Widmyer says. "It was big and scary and awesome, but if you think about the reality of the Zelda situation, what that would do to a family, with her wasting away in this bedroom, and a younger sister being frightened of her older sister’s debilitating illness, that on its own is pretty scary.”
“The grounded nature of that horror would actually be scarier than a supernatural version of it," he adds. “The nurse, the medical equipment, what that room would feel like as a layer of dust went on everything… how that would seem from the perspective of an 8-year-old, going into that room to bring food to her… and how scary that would be.”
The filmmakers have yet to release an image of the new Zelda, but we have a feeling we'll see her very soon. Stay tuned to CryptTeaze for more!