Pet Sematary

"Sometimes dead is better."

1989 1h 43m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🥫

55%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 2,481🥫55%Rotten Tomatoes●38Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 123,316

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After the Creed family's cat is accidentally killed, a friendly neighbor advises its burial in a mysterious nearby cemetery.

“Sometimes dead is better.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Paramount Plus PremiumSubscription

Paramount Plus EssentialSubscription

PhiloSubscription

AMC Plus Apple TV channelSubscription

Paramount+ Amazon ChannelSubscription

AMC+ Amazon ChannelSubscription

AMC+Subscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Dale Midkiff
Louis Creed
Fred Gwynne
Jud Crandall
Denise Crosby
Rachel Creed
Brad Greenquist
Victor Pascow
Michael Lombard
Irwin Goldman
Miko Hughes
Gage Creed
Blaze Berdahl
Ellie Creed
Susan Blommaert
Missy Dandridge

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mary Lambert
Writers: Stephen King
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Pet Sematary Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mary Lambert, shot by Peter Stein. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Elliot Goldenthal. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mike Hill shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dale Midkiff and Fred Gwynne and Denise Crosby carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sometimes dead is better.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mary Lambert directs. Peter Stein behind the camera. Elliot Goldenthal scores. Mike Hill cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 5.0× over at the box office.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Pet Sematary Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Mary Lambert, shot by Peter Stein. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Elliot Goldenthal. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mike Hill shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Dale Midkiff and Fred Gwynne and Denise Crosby carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Sometimes dead is better.".
9IMDB entry: tt0098084 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 29 themes, including "based on novel or book", "funeral", "parent child relationship", "coffin".

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Stein
Original score: Elliot Goldenthal
Editing: Mike Hill
Production design: Michael Z. Hanan
Costume design: Marlene Stewart
Makeup / hair: Hiram Ortiz
Sound: Michael Herbick
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $11,500,000
Box office: $57,500,000
Return: 500% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Pet Sematary (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes: 55% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 38/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 123,316 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 win & 6 nominations total

Part of

Pet Sematary Collection

Film adaptations and extensions of Stephen King's 1983 novel. A pet cemetery (formerly a Miꞌkmaq burial ground) in Maine allows the dead to reanimate as a murderous shell of their former living selves.

Also by

Mary Lambert

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-12-29
★ 6.5/10
And the night when the cold wind blows, No one cares, nobody knows. The Stephen King novel from which the screenplay was adapted very nearly didn’t see the light of day. It was actually written by King based on a real place and instances during a stay at a rented house. He was never quite happy with the tone of the book and only submitted it as a contractual obligation. Glad he did because it provides a very solid grounding for horror and deals with the very real horrors of overwhelming grief. The film gets the tonal flows right, the family dynamic is neatly pitched in readiness for what is to come later, the house and the titular Pet Sematary of the title are eerie personified, and Fred Gwynne is on hand for a sage old characterisation. The potential for shattering horror is not fully realised, yet the makers deliver a good quota of scares and unease to make this a better than average King adaptation to screen. The use of the Ramones in the soundtrack is a good one, King loved them, they loved him, so much so they wrote the title track and named an album after it. 6.5/10
Gimly2018-09-08
★ 6/10
Even if it wasn't any good, Pet Sematary's sort of a must watch given how heavily it's been referenced in the film and television industries since. But it is good, so there's that too. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
CinemaSerf2023-02-13
★ 6/10
The "Creed" family relocate to a rural town in Maine where the father - "Louis" (Dale Midkiff) is to be a local doctor. They don't get off to a great start after the beloved cat of daughter "Ellie" (Blaze Berdahl) gets squashed by a passing vehicle and so it is ceremoniously buried in an ancient graveyard populated by centuries-worth of other pre-loved animals. Their neighbours are very reticent to discuss this facility - it is rumoured to have oddly recuperative powers which to his shock and horror prove true when the moggy comes back - and with attitude too! The troubles for the young doctor only get worse when a real human tragedy occurs and he is faced with the ultimate dilemma... It's more of a cumulative story this - like many of Stephen KIng's stories. The plot builds by degree and is told here in a way that almost asks us what we might do differently from "Louis" even though we see, and can readily anticipate, the consequences of his actions. The horror here is not so much garish and scary, but human and almost voluntary - and that makes it a little more effective. There's no getting away from it, though. The acting is mediocre and the visual effects at times reminded me of an old episode of "Bagpuss". I am not now, nor ever have been a pet lover - so the underlying premiss of hysteria when the cat gets splatted also never really resonated with me either. Still, it is an eerie and solid story that challenges a lot of assumptions about love and rational behaviour and is still worth a watch.