Pet Sematary (1989) Review

"Sometimes, dead is better."

-Jud Crandall

Dr. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) and his family move to Ludlow, Maine, where they live next to a busy road.  Soon after, their pet cat, Church, is hit and killed by a truck.  Louis' neighbor, Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne), takes Louis to an ancient Micmac burial ground to bury Church and, the next day, the cat is back, but different.  Soon, Louis learns the hard way that sometimes, dead is better...

What Works:

I have not read the Stephen King book this movie is based on, so I have no idea if this is a good adaptation or not.  But I do know that I really enjoyed this film.  It's rare for a horror movie to get to me, but this one did.  It's a spooky film and I was genuinely creeped out by some of the things that happen in this film.  Parts of Pet Sematary are absolute nightmare fuel.  It's not afraid to go to dark places and nobody is safe.

Fred Gwynne is freakin' fantastic as Jud Crandall.  I've seen the parody of this character before on South Park, so it was really fun to finally see this guy in action.  His thick, Maine accent is just the best and Gwynne brings a lot of heart to the role.  He's definitely my favorite part of the movie.

Dale Midkiff also does a solid job as our protagonist.  He's a nice guy who has some terrible things happen to him.  During Gage's (Miko Hughes) death scene, the anguish he expresses is brutal to watch and, as the film goes on, we get to see him become crazier and crazier.  It's hard to watch, but you can't look away.

I really like Denise Crosby's character, Rachel Creed, as well.  Her backstory is pretty insane and the scenes involving her sister, Zelda (Andrew Hubatsek), are some of the most chilling in the film.  Her voice-over during the flashbacks is truly fantastic and one of the most emotional parts of the movie.

There isn't a ton of gore during the kills, but there are two deaths where they go all out with the blood.  Early on, we see the aftermath of a guy who got hit by a truck.  We see brain!  Later we see a guy get his Achilles tendon slashed.  It's brutal stuff, but awesome to see.

Finally, I did enjoy the few comedic moments with Victor Pascow's (Brad Greenquist) ghost.  The shot with him on the airplane is hilarious and it helps to lighten the mood a little bit.  The rest of the movie is extremely dark, so I appreciate the few moments of comedy.

What Sucks:

My only complaint about this movie is in the setup.  I don't really get why Jud takes Louis to the burial ground to bury Church in the first place.  Jud explains his motivation, but it feels a little forced to me.  He knows the animal will come back different in a bad way, why bring it there?  It seems like sloppy writing to me.

Verdict:

I know not everyone loves Pet Sematary, but I had a blast watching it and am not looking forward to the remake.  The characters are interesting, the film isn't afraid to get brutal, the ending is solid, the gore is gnarly, the little comedy in the film works well, and Fred Gwynne is fantastic.  There is some sloppy writing in the setup, but, without question, this movie has got it going on.

 9/10: Great