I've seen all of the Stephen King movies. Some are amazing, and some aren't. Personally, my favorite time of Stephen King was the 70's-80's era. That was when King films were scary and uncompromising. One of my favorites is 1989's "Pet Sematary," a film that is unlike any Stephen King movie out there.
Louis Creed, his wife Rachel, and their two children, Ellie and baby Gage, move to a house in Maine that brings on the idea of the American dream. But it's not at all what it's supposed to be, according to their friendly neighbor Jud Crandall. Beyond Louis and Rachel's house lies a path to the Pet Sematary, a graveyard filled with dead pets buried by broken-hearted children. After Rachel and the kids go on vacation, Louis faces a problem with the family cat, Church, after he is hit by a truck. Jud leads Louis to a farther path after the Pet Sematary, a path to an Indian burial ground. And before Louis knows it, Church comes back to life. And after the tragic death of Gage, Louis can't bear to live with his son's death anymore, and decides to bury him at the Pet Sematary. Bad idea.
Out of all the Stephen King movies, I think "Pet Sematary" is his darkest tale. It's a gritty, disturbing, violent, and unnerving film that is, at times, painful to watch. Not that it's a bad thing. This is a great horror film, through and through.
What does Jud mean when he says "Sometimes, dead is better?" When he says this, we understand that death is a powerful thing, something that we can all relate to. Months after Gage dies, Louis just refuses to let him go. He needs to realize that you can't bring people back to life. And if you do, you're taking things too far.
One of the scariest elements of the movie is what happens after the cat or the child is buried at the Pet Sematary. We think that Gage is happy when he comes back. But the truth is what comes out of the burial ground isn't Gage. It's something different and evil. As it is mentioned several times in the movie, "the barrier was not meant to be crossed."
The acting in this film is quite good. Dale Midkiff's performance as Louis is subtle and heartbreaking as you know that he can't comfort his daughter and he is slowly losing his mind after traveling to the Indian burial ground. "Star Trek" alumni Denise Crosby does well as Rachel. Gage's death brings on horrible memories from her childhood, mostly about her dying sister Zelda. You feel awful about what is happening to her, and you gain Crosby's sympathy instantly. Fred Gwynne's portrayal of Jud is a little bit goofy, but you gotta love him. I mean, he's Herman Munster. Let's talk about little Miko Hughes as Gage. He's just a baby in this film, and it's almost like he didn't need direction. That's how good he is in this movie. It still creeps me out when I hear him laugh.
George A. Romero was supposed to direct the film, but that job went to Mary Lambert, who I believe was a better decision. Many male viewers believe that women cannot direct horror films. But Lambert proves them wrong with intelligent direction and perfect understanding of the plot.
Will you be creeped out by this movie? Absolutely. Will you be grossed out? It's impossible not to be. But the gore is just the cherry on top for "Pet Sematary." This film is all about disturbing and scaring you. It's such a dark story and one of Stephen King's best. Everything about this movie, from the character of Zelda to Louis's loss of sanity, will scare you. And you will discover that sometimes, dead truly is better.
It was a great film up until when Louis reburied Gage. After that point the film turned cheesy and ultimately ended in a terrible way.
ReplyDelete1 1/2 stars out of 5