‘Pet Sematary’ (1989): Sometimes Forgotten is Better

With the remake of Pet Sematary in cinemas, it’s more than appropriate to take a look at the original film version on its 30th anniversary.

In case you’ve forgotten, Doctor Louis Creed, and his family — his wife, Rachel, their daughter, Ellie, and their three-year-old, Gage — move to their new home in the small rural town of Ludlow, Maine, alarmingly close to a busy highway. When the family cat is killed, their neighbor suggests there might be a way to bring him back….but at what cost?

image via CinemaBlend

There were some great horror films in the 80s. (The Thing, Evil Dead, Re-Animator…) There have been some great Stephen King adaptations (Misery, The Mist, Carrie...). Pet Sematary (1989) will not be going on either of those lists.

I had hazy memories of it being okay. Scary cat, Fred Gwynne’s Maine accent, ghost stuff…what I didn’t remember were the performances of everyone except Gwynne. He seems to have been dropped in from a better, more considered movie. He’s measured, thoughtful, realistic in a way that few other aspects of  the film are.

An Obvious Lack of Subtlety

Right from the start, the Creeds house is shown to be right next to the un-fenced road that is apparently solely used by heavy goods vehicles.

This film doesn’t believe in subtle foreshadowing. Want to show that it’s risky for pets? Have someone say lots of pets die there. Want to show it’s dangerous for people? Have the toddler come within a hair’s breath of getting smooshed…then have a college kid get smooshed. They don’t show how this occurs, possibly for budget reasons but possibly because as shown, there is no way an adult could get killed on that road without being really careless. It’s one straight road through the middle of nowhere. What on Earth was Victor Pascow (said student) doing when he was hit?

image via IMDb

Victor at least makes himself useful post-mortem (and, to be fair, Brad Greenquist gives a reasonable performance.)  He becomes a walking exposition machine/ghost assistant. Why is he knowledgeable about native American burial grounds? Who knows, but it saves some time in getting Dr Creed there. He’s almost omnipotent in his ability to help. He can follow Louis or Rachel at will, offering advice and encouragement. I say “almost” because he never gives enough to help to actually solve things, just enough to keep the plot moving, and never in a subtle way.

It’s the clanking lack of subtlety that really spoils things. If you kept the creepy aspects to subtle wrongness, if things were just a little off, you could understand Louis’ actions. In the novel, when Church the cat is revived he’s slightly off , taking out more birds and mice but still a cat that could pass as unchanged if you weren’t paying close attention. Here, he’s…well…

image via Syfy