Pet Sematary (1989)

Behind a young family's home in Maine is a terrible secret that holds the power of life after death. When tragedy strikes, the threat of that power soon becomes undeniable.

Director:

Mary Lambert

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Stephen King (screenplay)

Stars:

Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dale Midkiff	...	Louis Creed
Fred Gwynne	...	Jud Crandall
Denise Crosby	...	Rachel Creed
Brad Greenquist	...	Victor Pascow
Michael Lombard	...	Irwin Goldman
Miko Hughes	...	Gage Creed
Blaze Berdahl	...	Ellie Creed
Susan Blommaert	...	Missy Dandridge
Mara Clark	...	Marcy Charlton
Kavi Raz	...	Steve Masterton
Mary Louise Wilson	...	Dory Goldman
Andrew Hubatsek	...	Zelda
Liz Davies	...	Girl at Infirmary
Kara Dalke	...	Candystriper
Matthew August Ferrell	...	Jud as a Child

Storyline

The Creeds have just moved to a new house in the countryside. Their house is perfect, except for two things: the semi-trailers that roar past on the narrow road, and the mysterious cemetary in the woods behind the house. The Creed's neighbours are reluctant to talk about the cemetary, and for good reason too.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | pet | cemetery | neighbor | woods | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes dead is better.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pet Cemetery

Filming Locations:

Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$57,469,179 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Laurel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen King was present on location for most of the shooting of the film. The area it was shot in was only 20 minutes from Kings home in Bangor, Maine.

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Goofs

When Louis is checking on Ellie after she fell off the tire swing his pant legs are down. When Rachel gets up to rush after Gage his pants legs are now rolled up. When he gets up to follow Rachel his pants legs are once again down.

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Quotes

Zelda: [In eerie haunting moan] I'm coming for you, Rachel... And this time, I'll get you... Gage, and I, will get you. For letting us die...
[she cackles]

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Connections

Featured in Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary': Filming the Horror (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Pet Sematary"
By Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey
Performed by Ramones
Produced by Jean Beauvoir & Daniel Rey
Courtesy of Sire Records Company

User Reviews

one of King's creepiest, bone-curdling stories amid decent film-making

In the trivia section for Pet Sematary, it mentions that George Romero (director of two Stephen King stories, Creepshow and The Dark Half) was set to direct and then pulled out. One wonders what he would've brought to the film, as the director Mary Lambert, while not really a bad director, doesn't really bring that much imagination to this adaptation of King's novel, of which he wrote the screenplay. There are of course some very effective, grotesquely surreal scenes (mainly involving the sister Zelda, likely more of a creep-out for kids if they see the film), and the casting in some of the roles is dead-perfect. But something feels missing at times, some sort of style that could correspond with the unmistakably King-like atmosphere, which is in this case about as morbid as you're going to get without incestuous cannibals rising from the graves being thrown in (who knows if he'll save that for his final novel...)

As mentioned though, some of the casting is terrific, notably Miko Hughes as Gage Creed, the little boy who goes from being one of the cutest little kids this side of an 80's horror movie, to being a little monster (I say that as a compliment, of course, especially in scenes brandishing a certain scalpel). And there is also a juicy supporting role for Fred Gwynne of the Munsters, who plays this old, secretive man with the right notes of under-playing and doom in tone. And applause goes to whomever did the make-up on Andrew Hubatsek. But there are some other flaws though in the other casting; Dale Midkiff is good, not great, as the conflicted, disturbed father figure Creed, and his daughter Ellie is played by an actress that just didn't work for me at all.

In terms of setting up some chilling set-pieces, only a couple really stand-out: a certain plot-thickening moment (not to spoil, it does involve a cool Ramones song), and the first visit to the pet sematary (the bigger one), including the sort of mystical overtones King had in the Shining. For the most part it's a very polished directing job, though it could've been made even darker to correspond with the script. If thought out in logical terms (albeit in King terms) it is really one of his more effective works of the period. But it doesn't add up like it could, or should. Still, it makes for a nifty little midnight movie.