The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The special effects were bad which isn't entirely surprising since it came out in '89. Like, of course when modern audiences see Victor Pascow disappear and reappear they laugh. But even the practical effects were pretty awful and just lazy. When Missy Dandridge hanged herself you can clearly see the suspension device attached to her shoulders underneath her shirt. Timmy Baterman is seen pulling at his undead flesh in a flashback scene when Jud is telling his story and no flesh comes off. Victor Pascow's makeup/the effect where it's supposed to look like his brain is sticking out wasn't done well and we see him for a lot of the film. The acting in this movie is just... bad. There are a lot of things that bothered me about this movie, but what bothers me most is that they chose a man to play Zelda. And his makeup was the laziest/most disappointing in the entire film. He was not creepy or scary despite trying to be. I don't think the script was awful but some of the lines in this film are just not things people say in real life. And the whole movie just feels so rushed. I think my last review got taken down for talking too much about the novel and the 2019 remake. So, all I'll say is this: If you saw this film without the context of the novel, it's utterly confusing. And I know I'm not supposed to talk about other reviews but I even saw one person who thought Louis was a veterinarian instead of a collegiate physician. With the context of the novel it makes much more sense but it is still executed poorly with an underwhelming cast, very poor effects both special and practical, and a runtime that could have been a bit longer.

I enjoy this movie, it is one of the better Stephen King movies. I watched it again tonight. The only thing that is unbelievable is when Louis digs Gage's body up. It is in one piece. I would think if someone that small got hit by a semi going at a high rate of speed, the body would be in several pieces. But despite that, it is a good movie.

The Creed family has a sweet house cat named Church. Unfortunately, it gets run over by a truck and dies. The family's neighbor Jud has a suggestion: Why not bury Church in the mysterious "Pet Semetary", which is hidden near their house? The father Louis Creed dares to do it. And what do you know, the next morning Church is alive and well again. But he does seem somewhat different … Has Louis disturbed the border between life and death? "Pet Sematary" is an allegoric horror flick, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by King himself. That seems promising, but it turns out to be disappointing. The script is fast-paced, but way too preachy, focusing on the trite tagline: "Sometimes, death is better." The message here is painfully obvious, which makes the movie a rather dull affair. I didn't care for the actors, either. Fred Gwynne apparently enjoys his role as the shady neighbor, but he chews the scenery like there is no tomorrow. And Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed is so wooden, you can't get into his character. That's especially true in the last third, where he's acting like a total nut job.Director Mary Lambert saves this movie from being a flop. She treats us with some seriously creepy and gory scenes. But she doesn't always find the right tone. In some parts, you're not sure if you're supposed to wince or laugh. There's an undead sidekick named Victor Pascow. I guess he was meant to be funny, but it's not entirely clear. During the finale, "Pet Sematary" mutates into an exponent of the slasher genre, which is entertaining enough, but doesn't help the story at all. The ending is downright laughable. I enjoyed it quite a bit - on a trash level, mind you.You can get some thrills out of "Pet Semetary", but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it. The story is too crude and the execution too muddled.

Another Stephen King adaptation, with King as screenwriter this time. PET SEMATARY is the place in small-town America (where else?) where kids have been burying their pets for a century. Unfortunately, if pets are buried in a nearby Indian burial ground, they have a tendency to come back to life...A doctor, his wife, two children and pet cat move into the small town and are greeted by a local resident, Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne). That's right, it's Herman Munster himself, and he's the best thing in this film. A busy road soon kills the cat, and Jud takes Dr Creed down to the burial ground. It comes back from the dead, but of course, something's wrong...PET SEMATARY benefits from some true chills, especially from the dead cat and the creepy cemetery itself. Unfortunately these are the only scary things in the film. Fred Gwynne is always fun to watch and light relief comes from a ghost of a guy who had his head split open. Interesting the actor playing the ghost has gone on to star in some video games, including GABRIEL KNIGHT 2. The ghost keeps on popping up to offer advice which is typically silly and ill thought-out rubbish seemingly borrowed from AN American WEREWOLF IN London.The special effects aren't bad, either, and there are some delightfully gory moments. But when we come to the main cast...oh dear. The main actor just CANNOT ACT. He has an expressionless face throughout the film, even in the horror scenes. I was just crying out for him to scream or something, but no such luck. The puppets in THUNDERBIRDS have more expression than this guy, I think Dale Midkiff is his name. I'm not even going to call this guy an actor, because he cannot act. The corpses in the film were far better actors. The same, too, can be said for the actress who plays his wife, but she has a lesser role in the proceedings and is familiar as Tasha Yar from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. Sadly, this was one of my favourite King novels, and this film, with a better cast, could and should have been a lot better than it was.