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Originally, Stephen King didn't think the manuscript to this film's parent novel would even be published. The subject matter, he thought, was too gruesome and skirted the edges of unacceptability. Many opined, "What was going through this man's head when he wrote it" after the novel debuted in 1983.
Pet Sematary is a grim tale of death and the funeral ritual, the nature of grief and how it can cloud the judgment of the bereaved, and the horrific consequences of trying to "play God" with a supernatural plot device that has been revealed early on in the story. Because of such elements as the death of a small child--plus some post-mortem carnage dealt by said tot--Pet Sematary was for a long while deemed by many to be an unfilmable project.
After numerous drafts, re-writes and attempts at story modifications, the inevitable film version remains remarkably true to the novel, merely cutting a few corners here and there. Mary Lambert, directing from a script by King himself, turns in a solid--if rushed--interpretation. Young doctor Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) relocates from Chicago to the sleepy Maine township of Ludlow. With him are his wife Rachel (Denise Crosby) plus his children, Ellie (Blaize Berdahl) and Gage (Miko Hughes). And across the street is friendly neighbor Jud Crandall (the late Fred Gwynne), who knows a lot about the haunted ground upon which their houses sit, particularly the pet cemetery (misspelled accordingly) which rests a stone's throw away.
Louis' first day on the job (at the local University, where he has accepted a post as the campus physician) finds him treating a dying student named Victor Pascow (Brad Greenquist) who has been hit by a car. Perhaps channeling some spirit from the afterlife as his life ebbs away, Pascow warns Louis that "the barrier was not meant to be broken....the ground is sour...." The guy's pretty persistent, dropping by in the late of night as a ghostly figure in Louis' dreams (or are they dreams?) to warn him about the dangers of the Pet Sematary and what lies beyond the ancient deadfall of trees in its back corner.
It's kindly neighbor Jud Crandall who first introduces Louis to the power that lies in that neck of the woods. When the Creeds' family cat Church is hit by a car and killed (while the wife and kids are out of town), Jud persuades Louis to bring the carcass over the deadfall and into a secret burial patch further into the woods. He doesn't offer a reason, and Louis doesn't really question him. And after a good night's rest, Louis awakens to find a newly resurrected Church greeting him in the garage.
It's all fine and good so far, but when real family tragedy strikes, an unthinkable possibility looms forward for the grief-stricken Louis. But, as the regretful Jud Crandall tries to impress upon him, the Pet Sematary might have been a source of bringing back a dead dog or cat, but you won't be pleased with the person you resurrect.
Pet Sematary is a deftly-paced effort and ultimately a worthy screen version of King's excellent novel. True, it suffers from some condensations and character-removal, but how many novel-to-movie adaptations don't suffer from those problems?. The performances are decent, especially Mr. Gwynne, plus an unnerving role by (then) three-year-old Miko Hughes as youngest child Gage. Three years later, Ms. Lambert directed the hideous and unnecessary sequel Pet Sematary II. And for a while there was the threat of a third film....fortunately, that hasn't happened. Knock on wood.
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