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:

scalpel | ghost | house fire | little girl | intentionally misspelled title | 

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Taglines:

Don't forget to put out the cat...Before the cat puts out YOU.

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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, 21 April 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$57,469,179

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

One of the things that draws Lambert to horror is the genre's opportunity to make up your own rules as a filmmaker. "You can create a world that exists with its own set of rules. You can ignore physics, but the only thing you have to do is then adhere to those rules." She says Pet Sematary does a great job establishing and following its own rules.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 2 mins) Color of flowers when Louis kneels by his son's grave.

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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

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: Stephen King Movies (2011)

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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

Sticks to the book, but loses A LOT

Louis Creed and his family move into a new house in Maine when Louis gets a job as a doctor in a local school. They meet a kindly old man, Judd, living across the street from them, who tells them about a burial ground where kids bury their pets. However, when the family cat is hit by a truck, Louis doesn't want his daughter pained about the death of the cat she loves and Judd knows this, so he tales Louis beyond the 'Pet Sematary' to an old American Indian burial ground and miraculously the cat is revived, but it is not the same old friendly cat... and things get really bad when Louis baby boy is accidentally killed. He knows that reviving him won't bring the same boy back, but is it better than not having a son at all?

From the first scene right up to the last, this film sticks right with the book with literally no deviation. Not a surprise, since Stephen King himself wrote the screenplay and oversaw production. That makes a for a faithful adaptation that is pretty compelling, but those who read the book will see just how much better it is. Many anecdotes, supporting characters, and scenes have been chopped off. The overall tone is less tense and the dramatic elements seriously down played. While that pretty much comes standard with most book-to-screen adaptations, it is always annoying when the book is so freakin' good!

But overall this is a decent adaptation that still keeps certain strengths of its source. 6/10

Rated R: violence/gore