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 It seems as though every Stephen King story becomes a film, but Hollywood has only had a checkered success in adapting these stories into movies. There are some bright spots, such as "Misery" and "The Shining", and some dark spots like "Maximum Overdrive" and "Graveyard Shift". "Pet Sematary" seems to be among the latter. While it does have its moments (especially when an 18-wheeler runs over a toddler), the movie is predictable, addle-brained, and feels longer than it really is. Part of the problem is the mediocre acting. Dale Midkiff, who has the leading role as Dr. Creed, delivers a bland performance, while the girl playing Creed's daughter comes across as somewhat artificial and annoying. The other part of the problem lies in the story itself. There were some subplots that should have been left out. The parts involving a sickly lady who hangs herself and the sister with spinal meningitis only mired the movie down. Also, Creed's daughter tells accurate dreams about the future, and by the time things transpire, the surprise is gone. Furthermore, the plot progresses primarily because the characters never learn. The Creeds let their pet cat and their baby run around unsupervised near a road full of maniacal truck drivers until both get run over in separate instances. Admittedly, the toodler getting run over is a good scene, but it would never have happened if common sense prevailed. Also, the well-meaning but feeble-minded neighbor knows in advance about the dire consequences of burying anything at a sacred burial ground, yet he encourages Dr. Creed to bury his dead cat there anyway, which proves to be a mistake. It would have been scarier if the horrific events happened in spite of stupidity, rather than directly because of it. The bottom line: "Pet Sematary" is a rather mediocre horror movie and does not represent the best of Stephen King films. |
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QUARTER BY QUARTER ANALYSIS OF MOVIE
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OVERALL RATING
** NOTE: The more dots, the better it is. 11 or 12 dots indicates a masterpiece worth "throwing into the VCR" while one or no dots means it's a "disasterpiece" worth "throwing against the wall." ** |
    
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The Worm-Hole Reviews are written by Matt Barnes.