Pet Sematary (1989)

After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.

Director:

Mary Lambert

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Stephen King (screenplay)

Stars:

Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne

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

With dreams of a better life, the young doctor, Louis Creed, and his family--his wife, Rachel, their daughter, Ellie, and their three-year-old toddler, Gage--move to their new home in the small rural town of Ludlow, Maine, alarmingly close to a busy highway. However, when Rachel's cherished tomcat is inadvertently killed in an awful accident, a desperate Louis will reluctantly take his friendly neighbour's advice to bury it in an ancient Micmac graveyard--a mystical burial ground imbued with reanimating powers. Despite the terrible results and the insistent warnings from a recently deceased, tragedy-stricken Louis is forced to go back to the Indian cemetery, hoping that, this time, things will be different. But, can the dead return from the grave?

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Plot Keywords:

intentionally misspelled title | neighbor | indian burial ground | scalpel | ghost | 

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Taglines:

A Pet Isn't Just For Life.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pet Cemetery

Filming Locations:

Bucksport, Maine, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,046,179, 23 April 1989

Gross USA:

$57,469,467

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,469,467

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Laurel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pet Sematary was director Mary Lambert's second feature film. She was better known for her work directing music videos, especially those for Madonna including Madonna: Material Girl (1985) and Madonna: Like a Prayer (1989). Through her work in the music industry, Lambert was friends with The Ramones, who were one of Stephen King's favorite bands. She approached them about recording a song for the film and they agreed to write and perform 'Pet Sematary', which is featured during the closing end credits.

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Goofs

(at around 5 mins) 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

[first lines]
Broken Hearted Child 1: [the voices of broken hearted children burying their pets at the Pet Sematary, voice-over] Bye, old Shep. See you in heaven. Yeah?
Broken Hearted Child 2: [voice over] This is where my kitty lays. No more he screams and hollers.
Broken Hearted Child 3: [voice-over] He lived for 5 and 20 days. He cost me $50.
Young Jud: [voice-over] Spot - A good fella. We love you.

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Alternate Versions

Television censors of some of the films gorier moments included alternate shots from different angles that hide the more graphic images. This especially came into play with the Timmy Baterman scenes and the films finale in the Creed's kitchen.

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Connections

References The Omen (1976)

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Soundtracks

Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
Written by Tommy Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone and Johnny Ramone
Performed by Ramones
Produced by Tony Bongiovi & Tommy Ramone (as T. Erdelyi)
Courtesy of Sire Records Company
by arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

All in the Music

Pet Semetary (1989) 9/10 The Creed family have just moved into the small town of Ludlow. The family consists of a father, Louis, a mother, Rachel, a brother Gage, and a daughter, Ellen. They are greeted with kindness by Jud Crandall. Jud is 89, and could basically tell you about the entire history of Ludlow.

Behind the Creed's new house, there is a path leading to a pet cemetery (spelled pet sematary). When Ellen wants to go up to see it, Jud willfully takes the family on a trip. That is the start of hell for the Creed family.

When Rachel and the kids are gone, Ellen's cat Church dies. Jud feels that Ellen isn't ready for the death of her cat, so he suggests Louis follow him further up the path, past the pet cemetery.

Jud tells Louis of this burial ground, once used by Micmac Indians. Louis buries Church, without Jud's help. A couple of days later, Church returns, alive, but from hell.

This movie was one of two horror movies that could actually scare me, aside from "The Exorcist." The greatest performance would ever be Zelda, Rachel's sister with spinal meningitis, or Victor Pascow, a ghost who tries to help the Creeds from making the mistake of bringing back things from the dead.

The music in this movie plays an extravagant part. It is at the same time sad and mysterious. It goes along with the movie wonderfully.

9/10