Horror Film of the Week: Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary

Directed By: Mary Lambert

Starring: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Brad Greenquist, Fred Gwynne

Year of Release: 1989

Rated: R

1 hrs. 43 min.

The Creed family moves to a beautiful house off of a country highway that is frequented by big rigs. A kindly neighbor named Jud (Fred Gwynne) shows the family a pet cemetery in the woods nearby. An accident occurs over the Thanksgiving holiday that is only the beginning of a much larger event.

Right from the beginning the audience is pulled into the film; its eerie opening sequence puts the viewer in the right mood for a horror movie. The camera creeps through the titular cemetery, giving us a peek at each of the tombstones of beloved pets from the past, and it is backed by dark music consisting of children's voices. And what's creepier than children when it comes to horror films?

Pet Sematary is a brilliant masterpiece that is a darkly wonderful comment on the concepts of death, afterlife, and grief. It is able to pull you into more emotions than just fear; you feel sadness, loss, joy, and shock, all in one movie. Plus, there is the added bonus of the presence of Fred "Herman Munster" Gwynne as the kindly neighbor.

Intrigued yet? If not, there are two words that can only make this even better: Stephen. King. The script for Pet Sematary was written by the Master of Horror himself, and was based on his 1983 novel of the same name. There are many reasons why Stephen King has earned his title of Master of Horror, and Pet Sematary is one.