Pet Sematary works as a fun horror movie (including a little icon) but also is ambitious in it's willingness to explore the inevitability of death and the necessity of working through grief

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 27, 2024

While the acting and narrative structure in Pet Sematary leave something to be desired, the film’s third act delivers on its promising and horrifying premise with gory aplomb.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 3, 2024

Genuinely scary and uniquely odd, Pet Sematary shocks and awes with its no-holds-barred approach.

| Dec 9, 2023

Keeping the time period in mind, this was a fairly enjoyable horror film. It is very unsettling and is one of those horror stories that you can't forget. It haunts you.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 31, 2023

This was a solid 80's horror film. Despite a weird performance by the lead, there are a lot of strong elements in this and it's creepy vibe was effective in making my skin crawl...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 31, 2023

Lambert captures the autumnal chill that seeps out of the pages of the novel and into the reader's skin.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 3, 2022

Pet Sematary quickly becomes a testament to the power of the female gaze on screen, as well as Mary Lambert's considerable skills as a director. None of the gore is exploitative, and even the death of a child is handled with empathy and respect.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 24, 2020

Reduced to its plot outlines, King`s work no longer functions; its meaning lies in the obscure tensions and anxieties that shape the fantasy, not in what happens, but why.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 4, 2019

King turns the mirror on humanity, questioning our faith, our belief, our methods of expelling grief from our lives. And it isn't always a pretty sight.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | May 3, 2019

Overall, the acting in Pet Sematary is hit or miss. But when it hits, it's a bullseye.

| Apr 8, 2019

One of the stodgier King adaptations of its period, Pet Sematary 1989 squanders much of its promise with cardboard performances, flat direction and a dire lack of both emotional heft and chilly mood.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 7, 2019

The premise is fascinating, but the leaden direction, weak performances from the leads, and King's frequently campy interludes pretty much sink this one.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 30, 2019

Some genuinely great scares... Fred Gwynne completely and utterly steals the show.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Mar 26, 2019

While this is one of the best King adaptations, it does have some pacing issues, especially in the middle. The story drags a bit, but by the third act everything is moving at a breakneck pace.

| Mar 4, 2019

Pet Sematary kicked off something new: the modest, micro, highly enjoyable King adaptation.

| Oct 20, 2018

...a misbegotten adaptation that could (and should) have been so much better...

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 20, 2018

As a metaphor for the terrible decisions people make and never learn, Pet Sematary maintains a building sense of dread.

| Sep 10, 2017

This a silly movie, also overwrought, fusing the two until it approaches something grand and gonzo and tragic and meaningful.

| Sep 17, 2015

Without any real scares, there's no reason at all for this movie to exist.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Mar 3, 2014

A silly and tedious horror drama...

| Aug 5, 2013