Tagline
“Sometimes dead is better.”
The Review
Mary Lambert's Pet Sematary adapts what Stephen King has called the most frightening novel he ever wrote — a story so disturbing he shelved the manuscript and only published it to fulfill a contract obligation. Dale Midkiff and Denise Crosby play parents who discover a burial ground behind their rural Maine home that brings the dead back to life — wrong. Fred Gwynne's Jud Crandall delivers one of horror's most quotable performances. The film's willingness to kill a toddler and then bring him back as a murderous revenant was shocking in 1989 and remains uniquely disturbing.
Fun Fact
King wrote the novel after his own toddler son nearly ran into the road near their Maine home — the same road that kills Gage in the story. He has called Pet Sematary the only book of his that genuinely scared him. The Ramones wrote their iconic title track specifically for the film.
Score Breakdown
Total Score
21/30
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