Customer Reviews

Pet Sematary

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

It has been the candid observation of numerous film critics that the works of literary horror maven Stephen King don't often translate well to the screen. But when they DO work, man do they WORK! PET SEMATARY is a prime example. Though some of the details of the King masterwork had to be pared down--as is often the case when well-written literature is made to fit into a two-hour visual narrative--this film captures perfectly the spine-tingling essence and atmosphere of the original novel. As with many King cinematic adaptations, it HELPS if you've already read the book. But with a really good one like PET SEMATARY, familiarity with the book is absolutely NOT a prerequisite.

PET SEMATARY tells the story of the Creeds, a young nuclear family who has moved from the Midwest to a small college town in Maine. They take up residence in a old country house a few miles outside the town, and it isn't long before they become friendly with their new neighbor, a bucolic but agreeable old coot named Jud who lives across the street. Jud quickly alerts them to the fact that the road between their two houses is a busy rural highway, and he therefore warns them to be always mindful of their young children and the family cat. Many a pet has ended up in the nearby pet "sematary," Jud explains, due to an unscheduled meeting with a speeding truck or car on that infernal highway.

Inevitably, the Creeds' cat, Church, joins the roadkill ranks, but only the father, Louis Creed, is at home when this happens. Neighborly Jud worries about how the Creed children will take the news, so he decides to let Louis in on secret. Just beyond the nearby cemetery where the children of ages past have buried their beloved pets, Jud tells Louis, is another cemetery that was long ago held sacred by the Native Americans once indigenous to the region. Local legend has it that when you bury your dead there, they will return to life before the end of the following day. Sometimes there is a price to pay for this magic, says Jud, as the dead don't always come back exactly the way they were before they died. Nonetheless, Jud thinks it is worth the risk if they can protect the Creed children from the pain of losing a cherished pet. Being a physician, Louis is understandably skeptical, but he humors his elderly friend and, with the stiffened body of Church in hand, follows Jud up to the "magical" burial grounds.

Much to the surprise of Louis, Church does indeed arrive on the Creed doorstep the next morning. In some intangible way, though, Church seems different--no longer a loving feline, but instead stealthy, aloof, and easily provoked to anger. Jud tells Louis to try to ignore theses differences, and he suggests that if Louis remains mum about Church's resurrection, the rest of the family will never know their little secret.

Of course, as one might guess, it isn't long before one of the Creed children meets his fate on the highly trafficked road. But dare the grieving Louis bury his son in the sacred soil of the Indian cemetery? And if he does, will what worked for a cat work for a human? If so, at what price?

PET SEMATARY is a very satisfying horror film that offers the requisite spooky ambiance, frightful imagery, and outright scares, and all without requiring much effort to suspend one's disbelief. Part of the reason the filmmakers pull this one off is, of course, due to the excellent job that King has done in his adaptation of his own novel. But the lion's share of the credit goes to the excellent performances from the cast. TV actor Dale Midkiff, whose acting style usually teeters on the histrionic, here turns in a subtle yet compelling performance as the family patriarch, Dr. Louis Creed. Even when things get really intense for his character, Midkiff maintains control and convincingly delivers the reactions of an educated, loving father who is grasping for a rational means of rescuing his family from a dangerously surreal situation. Denise Crosby--better known to SF fans as STAR TREK's Tasha Yar--also does an unusually good job portraying Louis' perky upper-middle-class wife.

It is the performance of Fred Gwynne that really makes the show, however. Genre fans know Gwynne from his role as Herman in TV's classic horror-themed sitcom THE MUNSTERS. As the rustic and lovable Jud, Gwynne stretches his thespian skills way beyond the limits of the slapstick of THE MUNSTERS to create a credible and convincing elderly Maine farmer. Gwynne could easily take it over the top and upstage his fellow actors here, but he instead keeps it honest and subdued and thereby makes a significant contribution towards pulling the audience into the fantasy of the filmic narrative.

As with many of Paramount's DVDs, this disc is sparse on extras. However, the digital transfer (for the widescreen anamorphic edition) was made from a very clean print, and both the picture and sound quality are great. For King fans and fans of great cinematic horror, owning this film is a must!

In response to Bobby Abbassi's review of July 6, 2004....excuse me, Einstein, but the book and movie both had the spelling of PET SEMATARY (with an S) because that is how it was spelled in Stephen King's book by an illiterate character. If you had read the book, you would know this. And for your information, the correct spelling of the word itself is "cemetery" with an "e." Aside from that, I concur that this is one of the most terrifying and disturbing movies ever made. You will want to check under the bed before climbing in every night if you see this movie.

Yes there are aot of stephen king movies that have stunk. and there are the excellant ones, Carrie, Stand by Me, Shawshank redemption, The green Mile. and then there are ones like pet semetary which are alot better then you would expect.
A young couple with two young children move into a new house and are shwon the pet semetary. the husband finds out this cemetary has a hidden past and a deadly secret. I won't go into detail about the movie as many others have to say except this is pretty good. The acting, direction and the creepy music by elliot goldenthal. Dale Midkiff, denise crosby and fred gwynne all did a good job. Some of the creepiest scenes have to be with Zelda. Those scenes give me the creeps to this day.
Avoid the sorry sequel which should have never been made!

PET SEMATARY is scary as hell.

Not as scary as the book but still holds the scare factor.
It's a brilliant film and I thought It was one of the most scariest films ever. (...)

Rent this movie or buy it.

Think Gage is cute huh?....THINK AGAIN!

Later....

Let me start off by saying if you want scary, this movie is it. By saying this movie is scary, you really cannot get the full picture. Scary is Nightmare on Elm street and halloween, but this movie is just as disturbing and scary as it would be if you were in the firey flames of hell.

When a family moves into a new house, they are confronted by an old man who seems friendly, but Judd Crandel, the old man, has been living in that neighboor hood for many years, and knows all of the secrets of the cemetary that remains in the back of the house. Judd refuses to inform the family, but eventually, when the father finds out what the truth is behind the old pet cemetery in the back of the house all hell breaks loose, especially when their youngest son Gage dies.

I took my girlfriend to see this at the theater way back in 1989. She was terrified and would not let go of me, thanks Mr. King! Anyway this movie doesn't have everything the book had (The old neighbor across the street was actually married to a cheating wife, someone buried a prize bull in the semetary, etc.) but it has enough to let the viewer know what Semetary is all about. There are some VERY disturbing scenes in this flick.

Gage getting hit by the truck then coming back on a killing spree, Sister Zelda was just downright terrifying, and of course the ending where the wife comes back, runny eye and all.

Watch this alone in the dark at 2AM and you'll have trouble sleeping, you'll search for Gage under the bed and Zelda in your closet.

Ok, the good ghost dude is SCARY! the little boy, gage, that comes back to life...IS FUNNY! yes it is sad when he dies but he is not scary when he comes back to life! the mom is rather disturbing when she comes to life! anyway, a family moves to this place...by a road with lots of big trucks than come by...and there nieghbor shows them around to and shows them pet sematary, later on, there cat, church, dies. the dad burries it at pet sematary, church comes back..evil...later on gage, the little boy, gets hit by a truck...the dad burries him at pet semetary...and of course he comes back to life, kills the nieghbor and his mom, then the mom kills the dad...then the little girl is the only one alive, how sad! i really don't think this movie is all that great but its ok!

Read whatever everyone else said, but...

King's book ended abruptly in a way that was shocking and ambiguous: the reader could decide that the ending was either hopeful or horrible. The movie chooses for us (and incorrectly in my view) with an ending that screams WE'LL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED BECAUSE IF WE LEAVE YOU HANGING THE FOCUS GROUPS WILL REJECT OUR ENDING and destroys the movie.

In this creepy 1989 horror pic based on Stephen King's novel, a new family named the Creeds are about to get to know the word Death! This is a very scary movie; filled with terror and enough gore to please anybody, I'm still impressed and scared about this movie even to this day.

Lewis Creed(Dale Midkiff)learns about a Indian burial ground by a elderly neighbor, Fred Gwynne, after his family cat dies. Little does he know that the burial ground is actually "where the dead rise." The cat does come back but has a side effect. It's EVIL! Later during a picnic, Lewis' toddler son Cage is accidently runed over by a semi-truck. Lewis makes the sickest decision by burying his son... you know where! Then all hell ensues!

That's not the only scary thing about this film. There are some other demented scenes including the strange death of man with red shorts who seems to haunt, or help, Lewis and the Creeds. The wife also has a weird past with her sick sister whose body seems twist and turn like a pretzel! I don't mean to spoil, but nearly every Creed dies in the movie(Daughter lives) and Herman Munster, er, Fred Gwynne dies in the hands of Cage, the little Zombie boy. It's just a sick and complexed film. It's great. "Pet Sematary 2" is not so great.

If you are looking for a scary flick, this is the right one for you. This film scared the hell out of me like you wouldn't believe. Some people disagree with me, but they don't know jack.

When this movie first came out, I was only four years old and the only I part I remember scaring me at the time was the end where Rachel comes back and kills Louis. I remember crying to my parents and asking them if she was going to come and kill me.

During the summer of 2000, me being 15 years old at the time, I decided to rent it because it had been 11 years since I had last seen it. I watched late that night. That was one of the
biggest mistakes I had ever made. I was scared as all hell. The part that scared me the most was Rachel's sister, Zelda. That broad gave me nightmares not to be believed. Literally. I will never watch this at night by myself again. I can watch during the day. If I watch it night, I'm okay if I'm with somebody, but never by myself at night.

Dale Midkiff was outstanding in the role of LOUIS CREED. Denise Crosby, looking sexy as ever, was really good in the role of RACHEL CREED. Fred Gwyne, good ole Herman Munster, was really great in the role of JUDD CRANDELL, the sweet, elderly neighbor. Miko Hughes, whose film career debuts here, was adorable in the role of Louis and Rachel's son GAGE. I do not know who played the role of ELLIE CREED, Louis and Rachel's daughter, but the character made me want to smack her across the face about 25 times.

This is a movie that will have you scared out of your wits. It's a movie that will take you to hell and back. If you're wise, you will watch it with all the lights on in the house and in your mind.