Horrorfest: Our pets heads are falling off!

I saw Pet Sematary about 15 or so years ago, but barely remembered it. Never saw the sequel. In anticipation of the remake (or re-adaptation?) hitting theaters in April, I watched them for this year's Horrorfest.

In the first film PET SEMATARY (Mary Lambert, 1989), a doctor (Dale Midkiff) moves to a small Maine town with his family. Behind their new house deep in the woods is a graveyard where pets have been buried for decades. And further behind that is an ancient "Indian burial ground", which of course has special powers: it can bring things back from the dead. After tragedy strikes their young son, the doctor attempts to bring him back, but the boy comes back...different. Basically a haunted woods movie infused with some zombies, the film mostly works thanks to its practical effects and creepy story. Lambert was a hugely popular music video director who did some of Madonna's most iconic videos. Her direction is decent and I'm kind of surprised her big screen career never really went anywhere beyond these two films. Then again, she's one of the few women who got a shot at directing back in the genre's 80's wave. She handles the film's tone well, as it occasionally veers into dark comedy. Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster!) also appears as their neighbor, as does Miko Hughes who played Heather's son in Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

In PET SEMATARY 2 (Mary Lambert, 1992), a veterinarian (Anthony Edwards) moves to the same small town with his son (Edward Furlong) who witnessed the death of his film star mother in a set accident. He befriends an outcast, whose dog is brought back from grave after his stepdad shoots it. (Half of the people in this film are major assholes.) It's kind of comical how no one notices the dog's eyes glowing or that it has a gaping wound. There's not as much suspense in this one, even if the gore ante is upped quite a bit. I think my favorite thing about this might have been the early 90's ambiance pervading the film. The haircuts! The clothes! The soft alternative music! Irresistible, says I.  

GRADES:

Pet Sematary: B-

Pet Sematary 2: C

With the success of 2017's It, we'll probably see more new adaptations of Stephen King's work. In addition to Hulu's "Castle Rock" series and the Sematary re-do next year, a new adaptation of The Tommyknockers is in development. There's also the long gestating new adaptation of The Stand, which was going to be for the big screen, but the last rumblings said it would be a Showtime miniseries. Oh and there's also The Shining prequel, Doctor Strange, which is about to begin production from the red hot Mike Flanagan, and starring Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson.