DVD: Pet Sematary
I don’t find a lot of horror films to be scary and Pet Sematary isn’t an exception. Sure, a lot of people are going to find it scary, but for me, it was a solid thriller with a pretty fucked up ending.
But I can’t really talk about the ending, because that would spoil the journey.
The film follows Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) who along with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz), have taken their two children, Ellie (Jeté Laurence) and Gage (Hugo Lavoie) to live in rural Maine to escape the pressures of big-city Boston. Of course, if you’ve seen the trailers, you’ll know that their tranquil new life doesn’t last long, and the untimely death of the beloved family cat sets in motion a series of events that will test the strength of the family.
Kindly neighbour Jed (played by an awesomely on form John Lithgow) offers to help, “There’s more than one way to bury a cat” he tells Louis, correctly judging that the poor father isn’t ready to have to teach his daughter about death. Later on, a regretful Jed tells Louis “sometimes dead is better,” but this advice comes too late.
The film is more of a slow burn than most horror films, but it certainly earns it’s R16 graphic violence rating and teases you nicely with its opening shot.
Another interesting thing with Pet Sematary is how it treats death with a serious reverence that isn’t often seen in films. It looks at both the airy-fairy easy discussion that the dead all go to heaven and look down on us, much to practical ER doc Louis’ dismay, but also the serious side of grief, particularly with Rachel’s recurring nightmares of her sisters’ early death and her involvement.
All up, Pet Sematary is a great film that will keep you on the edge of your seats and ends up in a very dark place that you won’t see coming till it’s too late.
Rating: R16 Restricted to audiences 16 years and over. NOTE: Horror, graphic violence & offensive language.
GEEKERY rating:
