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Pet Sematary

Posted on December 23, 2020

Resurrecting Pet Sematary

Guest Post

Pet Sematary, at least at the time Stephen King wrote his 2001 introduction, was the most frightening book he’d written, according to the author. He explains that for any parent the death of a child is perhaps the most traumatic event they might ever face. The only thing worse would be if s/he came back to life, not him- or herself. Two major films were made based on this novel, one in 1989, directed by Mary Lambert and a second in 2019 by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer.  Resurrection is a frightening idea. It claws out of the ground of religion.

The entire premise of resurrection, to those in the western hemisphere, derives from Christian teaching. Among the many movie monsters, two revenants in particular—the resurrected and the zombie—inspire a special fear. Is it because religion tells us that at least the former is actually possible? Horror derives much of its energy from the fear of death, and the living dead of either stripe have religious origins and cross boundaries that are carefully guarded.

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Posted on April 13, 2019

Erasing Empathy: Talking Pet Sematary (2019)

Elizabeth Erwin

The Horror Homeroom crew rarely agrees completely on a film but in this case, we’re unanimous in our criticism of the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. From its privileging of male grief via the systematic erasure of adult female characters to its deeply misguided use of the Wendigo, this film had us wondering if perhaps dead is better when it comes to horror remakes.

And here’s a list of some of what we referenced in the podcast! Read more

Pet Sematary
Posted on April 7, 2019

Pet Sematary as Folk Gothic

Dawn Keetley

A couple of articles have suggested that the 2019 Pet Sematary (directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer) amplifies the “folk horror” of Stephen King’s novel (1983) and of Mary Lambert’s film (1989). It does, perhaps most noticeably in the addition of the masked children forming a “procession” to the cemetery (though this ritual ends up being much less important to the film than the trailer makes it appear). As I began thinking about Pet Sematary as folk horror, though, it occurred to me that the film actually seems more akin to what we might call “folk gothic”—and that there is a significant difference between the two.[i] So, while recognizing the slipperiness of both “folk horror” and “folk gothic,” this essay represents my effort to think through, with Pet Sematary, what “folk gothic” is.[ii]

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Pet Sematary
Posted on January 12, 2019

Transgressing Grief: Talking Pet Sematary (1989)

Elizabeth Erwin

Love it or hate it, Pet Sematary (1989) remains one of the most controversial entries in the Stephen King cinematic oeuvre. Today we are diving into this controversial examination of grief and looking at all the ways in which the movie transgresses against cultural taboos. Does the movie’s most shocking moments still hold up?

The entire Horror Homeroom crew is here and we’re talking Jud’s questionable nature, what Zelda brings to the story, whether we should be watching the movie as folk horror and so much more!


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Posted on January 30, 2016

Keepin’ it in the Family: Death in Pet Sematary (1989)

Gwen

We take for granted how much we learn from our families. Through family, we learn about life, love, strength, absence, guilt, and death. Sociologists frequently categorize the family as a primary socialization group which builds the foundation for future navigation of the world around us. It is widely accepted that within our formative years, from birth to school age, as well as in our later life, we learn from observing this primary social group.[i] Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory suggests that we learn consequence and reward by seeing the results of actions manifest in the lives of those around us. Considering the family as a core teaching mechanism of behavior and cognition helps me understand the film Pet Sematary (1989) in a new way.

In this Short Cut, I want to briefly examine death with a special emphasis on one video clip in Stephen King’s timeless film, Pet Sematary. (WARNING: there are spoilers) The Creed family consists of Louis (Midkiff), Rachel (Crosby), Gage (Hughes), Ellie (Berdahl twins), and Church (played by 7 blue British shorthairs). The first death in the family is that of Churchill the cat. Louis tries to shelter his daughter, Ellie, from the loss by resurrecting him via the pet sematary. One after another, Louis holds on to rotting replicas of the family to dangerous ends, as Gage and Rachel are buried in the same sour ground as Church. Louis Creed’s inability to let go puts the family in escalating danger.

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