Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Pet Sematary’ (1989)

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

When it comes to storytelling, in both film and television, there are still a handful of topics that are still considered to be taboo in nature, and the impact of death, is one of them. I mean, sure, we see people die on shows and in movies all the time, and we see characters grieve for the friends or loved ones they’ve lost, but the real impact, well…that stays in the shadows. Because when someone important or close to us is gone, there are periods of time where we are inconsolable, where we withdraw from the world thanks to the pain or suddenly burst into tears at something simple that reminds us of that person and putting that kind of stuff into a visual story, can be dangerous territory indeed.
 
For when people see that, a story can potentially become too real to them, and its why dramas and action stories gloss over someone’s exit simply because it’s easier to tell a tale where death is either avenged or dealt with in positive light. But once in a while, movies and T.V. will tackle the aftermath of death head on, and the genre that tends to handle these matters the most, is horror. Because within the confines of a scary story, the darkest parts of our world can be explored and somehow leave us feeling as though we didn’t tackle real world concepts since horrific monsters roam the countryside alongside the average Joe and Jane. But sometimes, a horror flick knows exactly how to balance the fantasy and the reality in magnificent fashion and once such film that accomplished that, was the supremely unsettling, Pet Sematary.
 
Now, we won’t spend much time on the plot today, because this is an iconic horror film, one that you already know by heart, so there’s no need to revisit the story. Instead I want to talk about the sheer horror this film produces, first, since this one still sends chills down your spine after all these years and with good reason. Because seeing a zombie-esque child such as Gage Creed is a disturbing venture indeed, especially when one considers his twisted bloodlust and the hunt that he goes on to satisfy it involving his family and his neighbor. Plus, the movie peppers in so many other disturbing moments like the memories of Zelda and quite frankly, the whole notion of anyone or any animals coming back from death is unsettling in its own right. 

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​But while the scares definitely rattle us along the way, the true ‘magic’ of this film is its examination of grief and loss and how difficult it can be to cope with all of that and Louis Creed is the centerpiece when it comes to this exploration. For it truly seems as though Louis struggles mightily with the prospect of death, to the point where he is uncomfortable in dealing with it in passing, as evidenced by how Pascow’s death haunts him in both the literal and figurative sense, and that’s further compounded by his actions as the story progresses since he simply cannot let go of his son, when Gage is taken from this world, and this is fascinating and haunting to say the least because you just don’t see this kind of subtle exploration in horror that often.
 
To enhance this exploration further, as death surrounds Louis, you watch him transform before your eyes on screen, and he becomes more withdrawn as the story rolls along, to the point where the warmth that he exhibits at the start of the film disappears by the third act because he straight up buries his feelings into the depths of his soul, and that’s what so many people do when faced with the loss of a loved one, and that makes this film uncomfortably relatable. If anything, I suppose my only complaint about the film is that it doesn’t explore Louis’ downward spiral enough, and it would have been far more powerful to see him begin to break down as he makes his poor decisions to resurrect both Church the Cat and Gage, but in reality, this is merely a minor nitpick on my part.
 
Because when all is said and done, Pet Sematary is a bone-chilling horror film, one that truly stays with you long after the end credits have faded to black because its subtle approach to terror and Louis’ emotions pay off in the third act when all hell breaks loose and your worst fears are realized. And because the scares are so good, and impactful and downright disturbing, any minor flaws when it comes to this movie can be overlooked and it really is that rare horror film that finds a way to sneak under your skin and rattle you to your core and I’ll be perfectly honest in saying that the new remake of this film, arriving this Friday, has some big shoes to fill because this one strikes a common fear in all of us, and that makes it a true modern classic, one that has managed to endure for decades.     

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