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Movie of the week: 'Pet Sematary'
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It is almost time for Halloween and during the month of October scary movies are what people want to see. Not only are scary movies fun to watch, but who doesn't like to be terrified just a little bit?
I wanted to take it back in time a little bit, and bring back a classic horror movie based on a novel by Stephen King. Pet Sematary is a movie that made me think twice about following any dirt paths into the woods.
If you haven't seen Pet Sematary, prepare yourself for a movie that involves an ancient Indian burial ground, an evil cat, and a child with a surgical tool.
Pet Sematary (1989) is the story of a regular family that moves into a new home in the country. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) and his wife Rachel Creed (Denise Crosby) and their two children Ellie Creed (Blaze Berdahl) and Gage Creed (Miko Hughes) find themselves settling in nicely to their new environment. Along with the family cat Church, they are looking forward to their new lifestyle.
Louis is starting a new job as Director of the University of Maine's campus health services. A student is hit by a car, and Louis is unable to save him. Later on that evening, the dead student visits Louis and explains to him about the burial ground beyond the pet sematary, and how he should not venture past the "deadfall", even if he feels that he has to. Louis is taken aback by the experience, but doesn't discuss the matter with anyone. However, things start to take a turn for the worse when Church is run over by the trucks that regularly drive by the house. The Creed's neighbor, Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne) feels compelled to help Louis and Church by taking them down the path, past the Pet Sematary, and over the "deadfall" to an ancient Indian burial ground said to bring the dead back to life. When Church makes it back to the house, he is no longer a happy and loving cat. Instead he is mean and "a little dead." Things get worse for the Creed family when the littlest child, Gage, is hit by a passing truck and dies. Louis is so overcome with sadness and grief about losing his son that he makes a second trip to the Indian burial ground, and buries his son there. Gage comes back with a vengeance and Louis is faced with awful decisions.
All the actors involved do an incredible job bringing the movie version of the Stephen King book to the screen. Fred Gwynne is the prefect fit to play the wise next door neighbor who has a way of making people listen when he speaks. His presence on screen is one that wouldn't have been the same if it were anyone else. Dale Midkiff also plays an amazing part in the movie of a concerned father who would do anything for his family, even if it isn't the right thing to do.
For the new generation of horror movie watchers, Pet Sematary may not have all the fancy special effects that movies have today. There isn't an excess of blood and guts or nudity and partying, but it has the ability to stay with you afterward. As Jud says, "Sometimes dead is better."
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