Review of Pet Sematary (1989) by Adrian H — 06 Oct 2012

This is a bad movie, but it's enjoyably bad. I mean it's at times hilarious how earnestly bad it is. There are definitely seeds of a good horror story in it, but the way it comes across on screen doesn't manage to terrify.

It never transcends the pulpy luridness of its subject matter (is this the original Indian burial ground movie?). If I had time I would have watched some of the commentary to see if Mary Lambert had any idea what a tonal mess she directed with this thing (probably due to no small amount of meddling by King if I had to guess).

I actually recommend you watch it just to see the spectacle. The best thing about it is a supporting turn by Herman Munster himself. This movie might have worked as a 45 minute X-Files episode if the entire family were secondary characters and Mulder and Scully solved their mystery.