While horror movie watching is a year-round event, this is that time of year when all of us can flourish, embracing the weird.
So, come one, come all, beasties unite! It’s Haunt-Tober time!
Stephen King’s haunting story has been adapted a few times and with each one I’m more aware of just how good the original is. Why it works, and this could be because of the time and my childhood connection, is somewhat of a mystery.
Mary Lambert’s Pet Sematary is a movie that steeps, it’s eerie and ushers in a deep seeded horror.
“Sometimes Dead is Better.”
A happy family moves to a small town in Maine. It’s quaint, peaceful, but what’s brewing in the woods and in the ground is something malevolent, ancient.
Dr. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff), his wife Rachel (Denise Crosby), and their two children have just relocated.
When their cat gets killed their new neighbor Jud (Fred Gwynne) tells Louis about a cemetery for pets. What comes back isn’t the animal they know and once this evil is fed, more accidents begin to occur. From there even more poor decisions are made and what spawns from the ground isn’t what went in. This Sematary might provide momentary solace in the height of grief, but the cost is much, much worse.
Sometimes even the best of intentions can have the worst of outcomes.
The direction by Mary Lambert is fantastic (handling some hard subjects with empathy) and she embodies the film with a tone that hits the nose on exactly what makes King’s story so effective. At times the dialogue and delivery feel off, but it’s part of the charm. There’s an underlying ambiance that can’t be understated and it is most definitely chilling.
Paramount recently released a “Paramount Scares” collection which included a 4k Ultra HD Blu ray copy (and a lot of other amazing goodies). The special features for the film includes behind the scenes galleries, a new interview with Mary Lambert and a look back at the classic with the cast of the newest remake from 2019. This movie alone is just one reason to grab up the set which features a special edition Fangoria issue and four other killer horrors.
Genuinely scary and uniquely odd, Pet Sematary shocks and awes with its no holds barred approach.
Today’s winners:
Wonderfully Weird & Horrifying 