Pet Sematary (1989)

Acting:		Partying:		Girls:
Blood:		Language:		Gore:
Violence:		Humor:		Sexuality:
Torture:		Predictability:		Overall:

I feel deep down that Pet Sematary has stood the test of time as a solid creep fest and one of Stephen King's best stories transcribed into a film. It's also one of those films that people argue that the book is better than the movie. I know film's oldest disputes are always about which was better, but in Sematary's case both stand as great pieces of horror. There's no way you can really fit all of the idiosyncrasies of a King novel into one screenplay...which is why The Stand sucked. In Pet Sematary we get to see some of the deeper plot points just enough to pepper the screenplay with true character and the odd sense of camp that director Mary Lambert brought to the production.

Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) has just purchased the perfect country home. It's got wide-open spaces, classic charm, and a very slender strip of highway that sees the constant thundering traffic of oil trucks speeding recklessly from point A to point B. It's seems to be the perfect change for The Creed family. Wife Rachel (Denise Crosby) seems a little distant and not ready for the move. The Creed kids, oldest daughter Ellie (Blaze Berdahl) and little brother Gage (Miko Hughes) are pleased as punch with their new home and even happier to have their cat Church with them. The Creeds are soon visited by their new colorful neighbor Jud Crandell (Fred Gwynne), who lives directly across the highway. Jud schools the new family about their surroundings, and the promise of showing them where the path behind their house leads.

The fam's new found happiness is short ...

continue reading...