Pet Sematary: Come forth, Lazarus…

Contains spoilers!

…but Lazarus came fifth and won a toaster. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. As mentioned in my review for Misery (1990), Pet Sematary is one of my favorite adaptations of a Stephen King book. It perfectly captures the eeriness of the book with an excellent cast. Released in 1989, the film, directed by Mary Lambert, tells the story of Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff), who moves to a new house in Maine with his wife Rachel (Denise Crosby), daughter Ellie (Blaze Berdahl) 1-year-old Gage (Miko Hughes), and pet cat Church (full name is Winston Churchill). The family quickly becomes familiar with the pet cemetery (misspelled as 'sematary' by the children who founded it) behind their house. Beyond the cemetery, though, is something with power over the dead, and it's an addictive force of evil.

What lies beyond the pet cemetery is a burial ground that had been used by the Mi'kmaq tribe. When buried here, the dead individual returns to life but as a darker version of their past self. What's worse, though, is that once this evil sinks its claws into you, you find yourself finding excuses to use the burial ground's power again. It's like a drug: the more you use it, the more you're hooked.

The film does an excellent job of utilizing the book's creepiness and veil of death. Ellie, after visiting the pet cemetery, becomes concerned for Church's well-being, going so far as to say, "He's not God's cat….Let God have his own if he wants one." Though this may be a corny line, it's an excellent portrayal of a child's view of death, especially when said child hasn’t lost someone, be it pet, relative, or someone else

When Church is run over, Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne), the Creed's neighbor who lives across the street, is the one that introduces Louis to the burial ground's power of resurrection. Crandall also serves as our view into the past, telling us of those who have previously used the burial ground's ancient power. Gwynne, possibly due to his role in The Munsters (1964-1966), effortlessly makes Jud a character we want to meet and share a beer with. His voice is what plays in my head when I read the book now, he's that good in the role.

Where the film takes a sinister turn is when Gage is run over by a semi and dies. Spurred on by a combination of grief and the addiction, Louis exhumes his son's body (you read that right) and reburies it in the burial ground. Gage returns evil, killing both Jud and Rachel. Midkiff does a top-notch job of showing a grieving father's turmoil, expertly selling the justification that his novel counterpoint utilizes.

The film does have a minor nitpick of a criticism for me. In the book, Jud is married to a woman named Norma, who suffers a heart attack on Halloween. Louis, having brought Ellie over for trick-or-treating, is present and manages to save her life. It's due to this act that Jud takes Louis to the burial ground after Church is run over and killed. The film combines Norma's role with that of Missy Dandridge (Susan Blommaert), their caretaker who commits suicide. While Missy's suicide does bring up the conversation death between Louis, Ellie, and Rachel, we lose both the relationship between Norma and Ellie, who viewed the former as a grandmother-type figure, and Jud showing Louis the burial ground as a thank you.

I have one last thing to pose for you, dear reader, before we go. In The Shining, Danny Torrance has a supernatural ability called-you guessed it-the shining, which gives him the ability to see the past, future, and communicate telepathically. In Pet Sematary, Ellie has several prophetic-type visions, giving her vague warnings of what's going on between Louis and Gage. Could it be that Ellie, like Danny, also possesses the shining? It's a fun theory to mull over.

Pet Sematary is an excellent adaptation of an excellent book. Check it out if you haven’t and give it another watch if you already have. Either way, remember that dead is better.

Cast

Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed

Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall

Blaze Berdahl as Ellie Creed

Miko Hughes as Gage Creed

Brad Greenquist as Victor Pascow

Susan Blommaert as Missy Dandridge