Pet Sematary Review

Written by: MisterVertigo   

Watched the movie yesterday in the middle of the night. The atmosphere was appropriate and I think that's the reason I enjoyed a, in a few words, not so great film. The movie is based on a Stephen King's novel entitled (obviously) "Pet Sematary" and the whole thing was under King's guidance (writer). The book was released in 1983 and the movie 6 years after in 1989. The film was creepy and scary. There were lots of times that I desperately needed to turn on the lights (although I didn't do it :P). A lot of creepy scenes that scared the life out of you (SPOILER ALERT: like when Rachel returns home and finds her sister Zelda in her son's room) and a lot of scenes which were amusing.

The movie has to do with a happy family which lives in a house in the countryside near the woods. The little daughter of the family, Ellie, finds a path wich leads to a Pet Semetary as Jud, a friendly neighbor, is going to inform them. Something seems to be wrong with this semetary and Louis, the father who happens to be a doctor, is going to learn about that from the spirit of a student which he tried to help. Everything seems to be going right, until Rachel and her two children go away for vacation at Rachel's parents. Ellie's cat dies so Jud and Louis have to find a place to dig her. Pet Semetary seems an inappropriate place, so Jud leads Louis to an old Indian place and that's where the whole movie is starting to gain a little action and be amusing. I'm not going to say anything more because I will totally ruin it for you. Find out more by watching the movie.

I had a great time watching this film, I did. But the poor acting (except Fred Gwynne - Jud) was a very bad aspect of the movie. The whole backround and setting was pretty good and the special effects, by which I mean the zombie-like make up and stuff, was looking very realistic and added a lot to the movie as a whole. The formation of the story was pretty great. How the events took place, how they affected the characters and so on. Each character was being analysed which made us care about them and affect  us when something bad was happening. Not so much of a surprise though, since the screenplay was written by King himself. The director, Mary Lambert, did a great job and each scene was wisely directed. She passed the message of horror and terror, especially in the ending. Lastly there were some pretty great quotes which made the whole movie really amusing.

To sum up, having not read the book myselft, I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to all of you. It isn't the greatest or the scariest film (not near enough), but it's a nice way to spent your free time. When you're feeling like seeing an old but yet good horror film, Pet Semetary would definately be an option. One of King's finest (not shining-like, but surely better than IT).