Pet Sematary (1989)

Director:

Mary Lambert

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Stephen King (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 April 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes dead is better.

Plot:

The Creeds have just moved to a new house in the countryside. Their house is perfect, except for two...

Plot Keywords:

Loss Of Son | Car Hit By Train | Loss Of Sister | Maine | Disturbing

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Pet Cemetery (USA) (orthographically correct title)
Stephen King's Pet Sematary (Philippines: English title) (poster title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Canada:18A | Finland:K-15 (uncut DVD version) | Iceland:16 | Germany:(Banned) (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Malaysia:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Company:

Laurel Productions

Trivia:

7 cats were used to play the part of "Church."

Goofs:

Continuity: When the family arrives at the beginning of the movie Ellie does a cartwheel in a wide shot. The cartwheel causes her hat to fly off. In the next tight shot she's completing the cartwheel and her hat is back on her head.

Quotes:

[Talking on the phone]
Gage: First I play with Judd, then Mommy came, and I play with Mommy. We play Daddy! We had a awfully good time! Now, I want to play with YOU!
Louis Creed: What did you do?
Gage: HE HA!
Louis Creed: What did you do?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Everybody Loves Raymond: Pet Cemetery (#5.5)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Pet Sematary

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.