Pet Sematary
2019 · Directed by Dennis Widmyer, Kevin Kölsch
Original language: English
- horror
The story
Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, move from Boston to Ludlow, in rural Maine, with their two young children. Hidden in the woods near the new family home, Ellie, their eldest daughter, discovers a mysterious cemetery where the pets of community members are buried.
What it’s like
Cold, grey Maine daylight and wide, muddy countryside shot in flat, overcast tones, with the cast framed against bare trees, dim farmhouse interiors and a forest that looks damp and closing in. The camera mostly holds still and lets scenes play out in full, while the score leans on low drones, creaking strings and sudden stings that make ordinary rooms feel uneasy. The overall vibe is bleak, grief-soaked dread: a rainy-afternoon horror watch rather than a jump-scare night out. Pacing is steady and deliberate in the first half, then tightens into a slow spiral. Emotionally it is about a marriage strained by loss, and a family man who keeps trying to fix what cannot be fixed. Violence is frequent and graphic, with bloody injuries, a child's death and some gory, disturbing scenes of the undead, plus a fair amount of cruelty and distressing animal harm. It suits horror fans who like fatalistic, grief-driven stories and are comfortable with dark, upsetting material, but it is not for anyone wanting something gentle.
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