Review of Pet Sematary II (1992) by Andrew T — 08 Jul 2012

On paper, a sequel to the original Pet Sematary shouldn't work at all. I mean, how the hell do you write a sequel to it? It would be almost like writing a sequel to something like American Psycho. Seriously. But Pet Sematary 2 succeeds where movie sequels made today don't, it goes in a completely different direction. Rather than fall into the pitfalls of the original film (mind you, I love the original Pet Sematary, and I am also a huge fan of the book), it goes into a direction of well, those events happened in the first film, but we've moved on from them. Sure the famous Pet Sematary is still here, but it goes further into exploring the aspects of what would happen if people are buried in the Sematary.

Pet Sematary 2 was also released during that time period where film makers though it was ok to show on-screen child abuse, so seeing a child or two get hit here or abused is deemed ok. We get it, the fat kid's step dad is an asshole, but the film goes into some taboo territories that you wouldn't see in anything today. The last movie I can remember showing an animal die at the hands of a person was 2005's remake of The Amityville Horror, and that was met with disgusted people walking out of the theater. In here our lovely asshole step father decides to shoot the fat kid's dog, just to prove a point that he should take care of it. It is still unsettling, twenty years later, as it isn't something you should ever get use to seeing on screen or off.

But what I love about Pet Sematary 2 is that it doesn't fall into the typical traps of a sequel by relying on things or gags from the first film, instead it kind of spins everything on its head. Here we have the asshole father returning home after being buried and he lives an almost normal life with his family for a few days before things start to get crazy. I mean, at the same time you know that things aren't normal, but it is normal enough that it is passable.

Pet Sematary 2 takes me back to a time where horror films weren't afraid to try new things, show absurd violence, tell insane stories, and show children being children. I love leaving behind the trappings of technology for the times where kids (like myself back in the day) didn't rely on video games, cell phones, and television to have a good time. I remember the good ole' days of riding bikes everywhere and doing things outside, and those moments made me enjoy this film all that much more.