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

Eager to start afresh, 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, after the inadvertent death of Rachel's cherished tomcat in an awful accident, reluctantly, a desperate Louis will take his friendly neighbour's advice to bury it in an ancient Micmac graveyard: a mystical burial ground imbued with alleged reanimating powers. Now, despite the terrible results and the insistent warnings from a recently deceased, tragedy-stricken Louis has no other choice but to go back to the Indian cemetery, in high hopes that, this time, things will be different. Nevertheless, can the dead truly return from the grave?

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Iconic terror from the No 1 bestselling writer.

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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 Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Stephen King first wrote the manuscript for Pet Sematary, he shelved it. It was only when his wife Tabitha King told him to publish it, after she found it later and read through it. Stephen King then decided to take it to his publisher.

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Goofs

When they first arrive at their new house and Gage is next to the car's trunk you can see cat food in the bottom right corner of the screen used to get a reaction out of the cat.

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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

Referenced in 20 to 1: Adults Only 20 to 1: Movie Monsters (2010)

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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