Pet Sematary (1989)

Pet Sematary was the first novel I read from Stephen King.  The first of anything tends to stick, but since I started reading his other books soon after I discovered that he had much more to offer.  Pet Sematary was written at a time when King still had major substance abuse problems, but it was a decent pulp novel nonetheless.  It wasn't a patch on most of his others at the time, but it's an easy read and has a number of great King moments.

After the debacle of Maximum Overdrive King began to get himself cleaned up.  Although I find many of his books from the 1980s to the early 1990s to be overlong (except It, which earns its length), his writing improved.  Also his judgment did as well.  When it came time to make a movie based on Pet Sematary he wrote the script and demanded that it be made in Maine, but that was about it.  He knew to stay out from behind the camera and, at first, George A. Romero was set to direct.  Once he bowed out due to delays that job went to Mary Lambert, whose only feature film prior was the 1987 mystery thriller Siesta.  Still, she was friends with the Ramones, and as their song "Blitzkrieg Bop" was referenced heavily in the novel a point on her end was that she could help make sure something from them appeared on the soundtrack.  

Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) is a doctor from Chicago that moves to rural Maine to work at a local university hospital.  His wife Rachel (Denise Crosby) and kids Ellie (Blaze and Beau Berdahl) and Gage (Miko Hughes) have some trouble adjusting, but things are made a little easier by a friendly neighbor named Judd (Fred Gwynne) who lives across the road.  He warns them about how dangerous the narrow road is as it is frequented by truckers that often speed through, thus leading to the existence of the pet cemetery behind the Creeds' property. 

When a student named Victor Pascow (Brad Greenquist) dies in the operating room after a truck accident he returns as a spirit to warn Louis about the cemetery and what lies beyond a deadfall.  Despite this, Louis follows Judd to what lies beyond after the Creeds' cat Church is killed while the rest of the family is away.  The cat comes back, but it is no longer the lovable creature it was, something Ellie notices right away.  After further tragedy strikes the family Louis, overcome by grief, defies the warnings of both Victor and Judd and does the unthinkable, sealing the fate of everyone involved. 

The movie was heavily cut - with all of the footage now missing, according to Lambert - as the studio felt it was too long.  It still comes in a bit longer than most horror films of its type, but does leave out some important details from the novel, including why the Micmac burial ground was abandoned and what haunts the woods beyond the deadfall.  It's not information that is crucial to understanding the movie, but if included would have explained some of the decisions that Louis make which, in too many cases, seem ludicrous, particularly after the way Church is when he returns.  Despite the cuts there are still plenty of gooey practical effects. 

This came out a year after Child's Play, and some of the changes from the book to the movie seemed to have been made in order to cash in on that film.  I saw Pet Sematary a couple years after it was released and didn't care for it, part for that reason and that I found the tone was off.  Having a chance to watch it again after this long I find the reason for that is because of Dale Midkiff.  He may have conventional good looks - at least for the '80s - but Louis Creed was a figure that slowly got seduced by his grief and loneliness in the book.  Midkiff just can't convey that properly.  Also, there are some overly dramatic sequences that change what should be numbing drama into near hilarity. 

This movie is saved by Fred Gwynne, who seems like Judd incarnated from the book, and Denise Crosby.  Since most people remember her as Tasha Yar in part of what was the worst season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, they probably think of her as being a wooden piece of eye candy that didn't do much for the show.  Like Wil Wheaton that seems more to be unfortunate directing and writing choices made for the show, as she carries the movie more than Midkiff, especially in the last third when Rachel is attempting to get home to make sure Louis is okay.  

Lambert, whose main expertise was in music videos, does make the movie visually interesting and worked out well enough to be brought back to direct the sequel as well.  As for the Ramones, "Blitzkrieg Bop" was replaced by "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" while the band recorded the theme song that plays over the end credits.  The movie was savaged by critics at the time it came out but has received a needed reconsideration over the years despite Midkiff being miscast.  It still didn't keep Lambert from spending a large part of her career doing SyFy and Asylum movies while falling into directing television episodes.  That seems to be the fate of many who produced a classic horror film here and there, but at least this is something to be remembered for. 

Pet Sematary (1989)

Time: 103 minutes 

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

Director: Mary Lambert