As most of you reading probably already know, Stephen King is one twisted guy. At least, he comes up with very disturbing stories, which makes me think he's twisted. Horror is his forte and Pet Sematary (1989) delivers the creepiness.
The movie starts out with an adorable young family moving into an old house out in Maine due to a job opportunity for the father, Louis Creed. The only thing that seems bad about their new house is the busy road they live on, especially for the family cat. However, unbeknownst to them, there is something much more dangerous and peculiar lurking behind their house, just beyond the neighborhood pet cemetery...
It isn't until his wife, Rachel, and children, Gage and Ellie, go on a vacation to visit the in-laws that Louis begins to understand just how dangerous it is beyond the pet cemetery when his daughter's cat, Church, ends up dead. Knowing how much the daughter loves this cat, Louis' strange, but kind neighbor, Jud Crandall, lets him in on a little secret. There is a burial ground beyond the pet cemetery and anything buried in it will come back to life. The two end up burying the cat there and it does indeed come back to life, but it's definitely not the same, lovable Church, that the family was accustomed to.
The creepiness of the burial ground doesn't stop there. Louis and his family end up being haunted by a patient who recently passed away. He keeps warning the family, specifically Louis, that no good can come from the burial ground. However, Louis ignores his warning when tragedy strikes their family. Distraught by the tragedy, Louis decides to give the burial ground another try, despite how badly Church turned out and the warnings from both the dead guy and Jud regarding how dangerous it would be to bury a human there. Sometimes, dead really is better...
The scariest thing about Pet Sematary is not the cat or the ghost of the patient, it is Rachel's deceased sister, Zelda. I don't know why she had to come into the story at all, other than to add an intense amount of terror into the movie watcher. I guarantee that if you have not watched this film, or even if you have, Zelda will be the one causing nightmares. Keep away, Zelda, don't come by me!
Fred Gwynne was the best actor in the movie, he was the perfect choice for Jud Crandall. I think it's his voice that really adds to his performance. It's very distinctive. Dale Midkiff, who plays Louis Creed, tends to go a little overboard with the acting at some points, but it's bearable, he's also not bad to look at. I had put off watching this movie mainly because I thought I was going to be upset about the cat, but it wasn't too bad. It's probably worse in the book. The family tragedy is pretty sad, but not enough to not watch the movie. Check out Pet Sematary, if you haven't yet!
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