With the Pet Sematary remake right around the corner, we decided it best to give the original 1989 Pet Sematary the full Horror Movie Talk treatment. Pet Sematary is not really about a pet cemetery, but is really about what lies beyond…the pet cemetery. The only horror trope more predictable than a Stephen King story set in Maine, that’s right, an Indian burial ground. And as with every movie with an Indian burial ground, the moral to the story is: don't mess with an Indian burial ground. The movie, directed by Mary Lambert and written by Stephen King is based on his novel of the same title.
Pet Sematary 1989 Synopsis
Pet Sematary tells the story of the young Creed family. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) is a doctor moving to the small town of Ludlow, Maine with his wife Rachel (Denise Crosby) and his two children Elle and Gage. Immediately they meet the kindly old man Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne) who introduces them to the features of the property. Mainly a busy road filled exclusively with speeding 18 wheelers, and a spooky forest where people bury their dead pets that were killed by those same 18 wheelers.
The crux of the plot however relies on what lay beyond yonder Pet Sematary. A Mic Mac Indian burial ground holds the secret to resurrection.
After the loss of a family cat “Church”, Jud takes Louis to the Indian burial ground which has the unique feature where whatever is buried there will come back to life. While the feline resurrection saves Elle the grief of losing her favorite cat. The knowledge of a power to restore life is a Pandora's box that only results in misery for the Creed family.
Original Pet Sematary Trailer
https://youtu.be/JMao8sg4DPA
Pet Sematary (1989) Trailer #1
Review of Pet Sematary (1989)
Pet Sematary deals really well with the concepts of loss and the folly of trying to cheat death. It’s surprising how much is packed into this movie and how well it still delivers. It deals with the loss of a pet and teaching about the afterlife to your children. It deals with protecting your children from physical and psychological trauma. It deals with resentment of caring for people on their deathbed. Ideals with the grief of losing a loved one, and the desire to get them back at any cost. And it does these all really well.
Check Out Our Review of Pet Sematary (2019)
https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/04/10/pet-sematary-2019-review/
The acting is not particularly good, but the writing makes up for it. The dialogue can have weird asides like those found in Stephen King’s novels, but they are done tastefully and they add to the tone of the film. The script does a really good job of laying out the plot very logically and creating moments of escalation in ways that aren’t always predictable.
The film has equal parts dread, jump scares, and gore. All of which are very effective. The special effects are good, save for the fight with the Gage doll at the end of the film.
Score for Pet Sematary (1989)
7/10
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Spoilers
Expand for Spoilers
You can pretty much surmise from the trailer that at least the cat will get resurrected, But the real turning point for the movie is when Gage Creed is run over by a truck.
Lewis in his distress is fate driven to use the powers of the Mic Mac burial ground to bring his son back to life. He does this regardless of the warnings of Jud.
Gage, like Church the cat, does not come back the same. In the place of this innocent adorable toddler, Gage comes back as an evil killing machine.
His first target is Jud, whom he carves up like butter with his father's scalpel.
Zombie Gage then kills his own mother before being tracked down by Lewis and put down like a rabid dog.
The imagery and emotional pull of seeing Lewis reunited with Gage is truly the best part of the film. The conflict and grief that Lewis feels when he puts down Gage feels...