Pet Sematary (film)
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| Pet Sematary | |
|---|---|
 "Sometimes...Dead is Better." |
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| Directed by | Mary Lambert |
| Produced by | Richard P. Rubinstein |
| Written by | Stephen King (novel and screenplay) |
| Starring | Dale Midkiff Fred Gwynne Denise Crosby Brad Greenquist Miko Hughes Blaze Berdahl Susan Blommaert |
| Music by | Elliot Goldenthal |
| Cinematography | Peter Stein |
| Editing by | Daniel P. Hanley Mike Hill |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 21, 1989 (USA) |
| Running time | 103 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11,500,000 |
| Followed by | Pet Sematary II |
| IMDb profile | |
Pet Sematary (sometimes referred to as Stephen King's Pet Sematary) is a 1989 horror film adapatation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed by Mary Lambert, the film stars Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed, Denise Crosby as Rachel Creed, Blaze Berdahl as Ellie Creed, Miko Hughes as Gage Creed, and Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall.
This film was the first adaptation of a Stephen King novel to include his name in its title. Stephen King wrote the screenplay himself, having become frustrated with how his novels were represented in film adaptations, and appears briefly in the film as a minister at a funeral.
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[edit] Synopsis
The plot revolves around the corporeal reanimation of deceased pets and humans in an abandoned Mi'kmaq burial ground outside the town of Ludlow, Maine. The Creed family moves into a new home and befriends their new neighbor, Jud Crandall, who tells them about a pet cemetery and the burial grounds nearby.
[edit] The Movie vs. the Book
The movie is more faithful to the novel's story line and structure than is common for novel-to-movie adaptations in the horror genre. Even so, several plot elements, such as Louis's troubled relationship with his in-laws, his sorrow after Gage's death and his consequent justifications for resurrecting his son, were either combined, truncated or dropped entirely due to the limitations of a movie-length script. The repeated line from the book about "Oz the Gweat and Tewwible" was replaced by repeated appearances of Pascow and Zelda. In addition, the movie glosses over the concept of the Wendigo in the forest, and completely skips over the implication that there is a singular, specific intelligence which guides the resurrected creatures and speaks through them. Additionally, there is the particular omission of one of the book's more disturbing implications: that this intelligence, by way of Gage's body, has eaten parts of Rachel in addition to killing her ("something had been at her").
The role of Steve Masterton, an employee at Louis' medical center and the only character whose future is disclosed, is greatly reduced in the film. His only appearances are when the people bring Pascow into the infirmary and at Gage's funeral. The film also omitted Norma Crandall, Jud's wife, and changed some of the dates; for instance, the year that Jud claims to have buried his dog Spot is changed from 1914 to 1924.
The ending of the film has a significantly different tone than that of the novel. In the novel there is a certain level of ambiguity pertaining to the resurrected Rachel; she is not seen by her husband, but merely felt when she places a decaying hand on his shoulder and says in a rather gravely voice "Darling..." However, in the film, a far more graphic and violent ending is depicted. The resurrected Rachel returns, in a state of decay (bloody, oozing, partially skeletal) and kisses her husband before brutally dispatching him with a large carving knife. (This last action is not shown, but the sound effect that accompanies it over the end credits has a certain morbid finality, underscored by Louis' gutteral scream.)
[edit] Cast & Crew
Produced by Mitchell Galin, Richard P. Rubinstein, and Tim Zinneman. Directed by Mary Lambert. Stephen King wrote both the novel and the screenplay for the movie.
Cast
Dale Midkiff .... Louis Creed
Fred Gwynne .... Jud Crandall
Denise Crosby .... Rachel Creed
Brad Greenquist .... Victor Pascow
Michael Lombard.... Irwin Goldman
Miko Hughes .... Gage Creed
Blaze Berdahl .... Ellie Creed
Susan Blommaert .... Missy Dandridge
Mara Clark .... Marcy Charlton
Kavi Raz .... Steve Masterton
Mary Louise Wilson .... Dory Goldman
Andrew Hubatsek .... Zelda
Matthew August Ferrell .... Jud as a child
Lisa Stathoplos .... Jud's mother
Stephen King .... Minister
Elizabeth Ureneck .... Rachel as a child
Chuck Courtney .... Bill Baterman
Peter Stader .... Timmy Baterman
Beau Berdahl .... Ellie Creed II
[edit] 2006 DVD
On September 26, 2006, Paramount released a Special Collector's Edition DVD. It features:
- Commentary by Director Mary Lambert
- Documentery: Stephen King's Pet Sematary: Stephen King Territory
- Documentery: Stephen King's Pet Sematary: The Characters
- Documentery: Stephen King's Pet Sematary: Filming the Horror
The Documentaries feature interviews with Dale Midkiff, Brad Greenquist, Denise Crosby, Stephen King, director Mary Lambert, Fred Gwynne, and other members of the cast and crew.
[edit] Reception
Despite an intially positive reception by many eminent critics, Pet Sematary generated mostly mixed reviews, and was considered to be a moderate box office hit of that year, taking in $16 million in its first week at the North American box-office. The controversial nature of the film may have led to some of its alleged "unviewability," and Pet Sematary remains to this day banned in several countries. Nevertheless, it has recently developed an ardent cult following. 'This is the first screenplay that Stephen King has adapted from one of his own novels, ' wrote Films and Filming, in November of 1989 'and while it is a generally competent effort, there some absolute howlers in the dialogue...There is also a taut Halloween (film)-style ending that almost justifies the preceeding hour and a half. But ultimately there are still too many unanswered questions.' Fear magazine wrote 'The viewer is made to feel personal grief with some realism, and that's something which most horror film-makers have never handled or been willing to handle.' Mary Lambert was quite protective of her work "Pet Sematary is about a love of a father for his child that is obsessive to the point of breaking certain taboos, passing certain boundaries that shouldn't be passed. I think I brought a sense of mystery and mysticism to the story that they were looking for. There are certain aspects of this story that take it beyond just another horror movie."
[edit] Trivia
- Tom Savini turned down a chance to direct this film.
- George A. Romero was the first choice to direct this film, but was unavailable to, due to a scheduling conflict. By this point he had already done several storyboard treatments and scouted locations for the film. When asked later what he would have done different in regards to the adaptation, he commented "I would have done it BETTER." *Romero was also considered to direct three other King films: Salem's Lot (1979 TV mini-series), The Stand (TV miniseries) and It (1990 film). He would however direct King related films Creepshow and The Dark Half (film) which coincidentally took place in the same fictional town as Pet Sematary: Ludlow, Maine. He would also contribute a script based on King's short story "Cat From Hell" to the 1990 anthologhy horror film Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. King and Romero are good friends and King has dedicated his novels Christine and Cell (novel) to him.
- Bruce Campbell from the Evil Dead Trilogy fame was the first choice to play Dr. Louis Creed.
- Christina Ricci tried out for the role of Ellie Creed but lost out to Blaze Berdahl and her twin sister Beau.
- Stephen King demanded that the film be shot on location in his home state of Maine, where the novel takes place.
- The author of the novel and the screenwriter, Stephen King, makes a cameo appearance as the priest, saying mass/last rites at Missy Dandridge's funeral in the film.
- Seven cats (British Shorthair) were used to play the cat Winston Churchill/Church.
- The character of Zelda was played by a man, Andrew Hubatsek, after they had a hard time finding a woman who looked emaciated enough for the role.
- Elliot Goldenthal's opening theme has often been compared to the theme for The Amityville Horror (1979 film), particularly in how it utilizes a choir of children. Ironically, the theme from that particular film was used in an early trailer for the film.
- Test audiences felt that the film's climax was too ambiguous and unsatisfying, so the studio asked Lambert to make it more graphic. Lambert did exactly this, but a shot of a three inch pincer-bug emerging from Rachael's ear was deemed too extreme.
- The Ramones were mentioned several times in the novel and recorded an original song for the end credits. Their song "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is also featured as a truck leaves a mill en route to a fatal encounter with young Gage.
- This film was #32 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
- If you look closely on the truck Rachel gets a ride in, the stand has the number 666
