Dr. Louis Creed having just moved to Maine with his wife and two children is heartbroken when he finds that his daughter's beloved cat has been hit by a truck and killed. Thankfully a strange elderly neighbor called Jud kn... more »ows a secret that may spare the young girl's tears. He takes the dead cat to an ancient Indian burial ground that lies hidden in the surrounding hilltops; and when he buries the feline there it comes back to life a few days later.But Louis can't be trusted with the secret and despite strong warnings that something horrible will happen he uses the power of the burial ground to bring his son back from the dead -- after the child is killed the same way the family cat was.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 097361183640 Manufacturer No: 118364« less
Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL Reviewed on 3/18/2011...
This is one of Stephen King's darkest films. It deals with the concept of death and how various people deal with it. Fred Gwynne delivers a fantastic performance. He's the emotional center of this film and we feel for him throughout. This is a horror film that isn't afraid to go all out. Areas that the majority of films tend to keep off limits r dealt with (child death being a mjor one).
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Movie Reviews
Scariest movie I have ever seen
Alexander M. Moir | Huntington, NY | 08/07/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First off, this is the scariest movie I have ever seen. It may not be so for everyone (and I know comments like that often get you a "0 out 0f 30 people found this helpful" but so be it) but if you like King's visceral, deep-seated horror, I recommend it.
The town, the graveyard, the music, the mist everywhere, the monstrous undead animals and the people all make this a frightening ensemble for me. I have to concur with many of the reviewers about the Zelda character (who was incidentally played by a man named Andrew Hubatsek). There's something so phenomenally horrifying about that character to me that I can actually say I have trouble watching the movie, and certainly never again alone. I find those sequences truly terrifying. The flashbacks of Timmy Baderman (sp?) are also scary.
Furthermore, I agree with many of you that this is a different experience from the book, which I also recommend for added terror. I read the book in broad daylight in a friend's house in Hollywood and I still felt like I was alone in the woods at night.
Highly recommend the film to fans of horror, though it might not be your thing if you just dig slashers. DVD completely lacks features, so for the format itself I'd give 2 stars."
"I Don't Wanna Be Buried in a Pet Cemetery...."
Michael R Gates | Nampa, ID United States | 01/22/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It has been the candid observation of numerous film critics that the works of literary horror maven Stephen King don't often translate well to the screen. But when they DO work, man do they WORK! PET SEMATARY is a prime example. Though some of the details of the King masterwork had to be pared down--as is often the case when well-written literature is made to fit into a two-hour visual narrative--this film captures perfectly the spine-tingling essence and atmosphere of the original novel. As with many King cinematic adaptations, it HELPS if you've already read the book. But with a really good one like PET SEMATARY, familiarity with the book is absolutely NOT a prerequisite.PET SEMATARY tells the story of the Creeds, a young nuclear family who has moved from the Midwest to a small college town in Maine. They take up residence in a old country house a few miles outside the town, and it isn't long before they become friendly with their new neighbor, a bucolic but agreeable old coot named Jud who lives across the street. Jud quickly alerts them to the fact that the road between their two houses is a busy rural highway, and he therefore warns them to be always mindful of their young children and the family cat. Many a pet has ended up in the nearby pet "sematary," Jud explains, due to an unscheduled meeting with a speeding truck or car on that infernal highway.Inevitably, the Creeds' cat, Church, joins the roadkill ranks, but only the father, Louis Creed, is at home when this happens. Neighborly Jud worries about how the Creed children will take the news, so he decides to let Louis in on secret. Just beyond the nearby cemetery where the children of ages past have buried their beloved pets, Jud tells Louis, is another cemetery that was long ago held sacred by the Native Americans once indigenous to the region. Local legend has it that when you bury your dead there, they will return to life before the end of the following day. Sometimes there is a price to pay for this magic, says Jud, as the dead don't always come back exactly the way they were before they died. Nonetheless, Jud thinks it is worth the risk if they can protect the Creed children from the pain of losing a cherished pet. Being a physician, Louis is understandably skeptical, but he humors his elderly friend and, with the stiffened body of Church in hand, follows Jud up to the "magical" burial grounds. Much to the surprise of Louis, Church does indeed arrive on the Creed doorstep the next morning. In some intangible way, though, Church seems different--no longer a loving feline, but instead stealthy, aloof, and easily provoked to anger. Jud tells Louis to try to ignore theses differences, and he suggests that if Louis remains mum about Church's resurrection, the rest of the family will never know their little secret.Of course, as one might guess, it isn't long before one of the Creed children meets his fate on the highly trafficked road. But dare the grieving Louis bury his son in the sacred soil of the Indian cemetery? And if he does, will what worked for a cat work for a human? If so, at what price?PET SEMATARY is a very satisfying horror film that offers the requisite spooky ambiance, frightful imagery, and outright scares, and all without requiring much effort to suspend one's disbelief. Part of the reason the filmmakers pull this one off is, of course, due to the excellent job that King has done in his adaptation of his own novel. But the lion's share of the credit goes to the excellent performances from the cast. TV actor Dale Midkiff, whose acting style usually teeters on the histrionic, here turns in a subtle yet compelling performance as the family patriarch, Dr. Louis Creed. Even when things get really intense for his character, Midkiff maintains control and convincingly delivers the reactions of an educated, loving father who is grasping for a rational means of rescuing his family from a dangerously surreal situation. Denise Crosby--better known to SF fans as STAR TREK's Tasha Yar--also does an unusually good job portraying Louis' perky upper-middle-class wife. It is the performance of Fred Gwynne that really makes the show, however. Genre fans know Gwynne from his role as Herman in TV's classic horror-themed sitcom THE MUNSTERS. As the rustic and lovable Jud, Gwynne stretches his thespian skills way beyond the limits of the slapstick of THE MUNSTERS to create a credible and convincing elderly Maine farmer. Gwynne could easily take it over the top and upstage his fellow actors here, but he instead keeps it honest and subdued and thereby makes a significant contribution towards pulling the audience into the fantasy of the filmic narrative.As with many of Paramount's DVDs, this disc is sparse on extras. However, the digital transfer (for the widescreen anamorphic edition) was made from a very clean print, and both the picture and sound quality are great. For King fans and fans of great cinematic horror, owning this film is a must!"
Effectively Disturbing!
~ALANiS~ | Toronto, Canada | 04/26/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After reading Stephen King's novel "Pet Sematary" and being a little disturbed by it, I figured that I would rent the movie to see what a terrible adaptation some money-hungry fellow made. After viewing the film I was quite surprised. The first half of the film starts out nice with a happy family enjoying thier new rural home. But then we see the second half of the film in which all turns to hell. After Gage is killed you can't help but feel bad, no one wants to see a boy that cute skin his knee let alone what happens to him in this film. The performances in the film were mostly well done, especially from Fred Gwynne (Jud Crandall), Denise Crosby (Rachel Creed) & Miko Hughes (Gage Creed). The Pet Sematary novel was meant to be disturbing, and this film certainly is just that. Most likely the reason people hate this film and think it's sick is because they too were disturbed by it. It's definitely not a film to give you a positive outlook on life, but I guess that's what makes it such an effective horror film."
Quite Creepy!
AncientLegends | Toronto, Canada | 05/07/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Pet Sematary is by far the most disturbing horror film I have ever seen. From the creepy opening credits to the tragic ending you will either be creeped out or disturbed by this movie. The most unnerving part of the film is that you can't root for the killers demise because he is an innocent little boy who did nothing to deserve what happened to him, it is a complete injustice. The fact that Rachel Creed (Denise Crosby) is seen with red, swollen, tear filled eyes after her little boy is taken away from her only makes the tragedy seem real. As well, the flashbacks of the Ludlow town's hidden secrets, told by Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne), are intriguing and make you wonder why people wouldn't move far away from that place. Having picked the cutest little boy to portray the tragic role of Gage Creed (Miko Hughes) is one thing, but him giving such an outstanding performance at the age of 29 months is incredible...incidentally it took 2 girls to play the role of Ellie Creed! All in all this film is great for people who can stand emotionally unsettling situations, it is truely a horror film."
Scary as hell
AncientLegends | 09/24/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow! Definately King's best film to date! Seriously, this movie has everything. So, if you want to be scared senseless, Pet Sematary is well worth the money.The movie starts out creepy enough with opening credits in the "pet sematary" with an eerie soundtrack. Then, we meet the Creeds, surgeon father and husband Lewis, mother and wife Rachel, kindergarden daughter Ellie, and adorable little infant son, Gage. Actually, if you were watching it on TV and didn't know what the title was or what it was about, for the first 15 or 20 minutes, you wouldn't even know it was a horror movie. But then, things start getting strange when their neighbor starts talking about the mysterious path behind the house, which leads to the "pet sematary." Then, while Rachel and the kids are at Rachel's parents house for Thanksgiving, Lewis' neighbor calls and tells him that he thinks Ellie's cat got killed and is dead on his lawn. Instead of buring it in the "pet sematary" they bury it in "the place where the dead rise," and old Native American burial ground.Sure enough the cat comes back the next day, bring an unearthy stench back with it. That's how Lewis finally manages to convince himself that it really did work.Then, something extremely heartbreaking happens to the Creed boy, Gage. This is where the ol' zombie-raising ground comes in. But, when the little boy comes back, he ain't exactly the innocent little tike he was in the real life...This movie is SO SCARY! YOU NEED TO SEE IT! also the sequel is really good.PET SEMATARY IS RATED R FOR VIOLENCE, GORE, STRONG LANGUAGE, BRIEF NUDITY AND DISTURBING IMAGES."