April saw the release of the remake of Pet Sematary, the creepy flick based on a Stephen King book about an animal burial ground in Maine that brings back to life anything laid to rest there. A pivotal and disturbing scene in the film is when a cat named Church is killed and buried, only to be resurrected and return to his family, though when he does he is a little more evil. Sadly, Leo the Cat, who portrayed Church in the movie, has mysteriously died.
The animal's trainer, Kirk Jarrett, who adopted Leo after production on the film wrapped, announced the upsetting news on Instagram.
Jarrett wrote, "It is with deep sadness that we tell you that Leo has passed away. He will forever be missed by his human and fur family. May his star always shine bright."
While four Maine Coon cats actually played Church in various scenes in the movie, Leo is the one shown on all the film's posters.
Jarrett previously described his pet saying, "Leo is a confident sit-stay cat. His role is as the undead Church; that was his whole purpose, to be the poster child. The cat you see all across the different platforms, and in the trailer, almost any time he’s in in the undead makeup—that was Leo."
A cause of death for Leo hasn't been announced, but his passing happening so close to the horror film's release is sending chills down some moviegoers' spines.
Photo: Paramount