Runtime:
100 minutes
Release
Date: August 28, 1992
Rating:
R
Director:
Mary Lambert
Jeff
Matthews is a young teenager sent to live with his veterinarian
father after his actress mother dies in an accident on her latest
film set. Chase, his father, decides to move them both to a new town
in the hopes of starting over fresh without memories of her weighing
them down. Unfortunately, he moves them to the same town where she
lived in her younger years, which puts them in contact with the
sheriff who once dated her. Jeff also meets and befriends Drew, the
stepson of the sheriff.
Though
Jeff initially makes a new friend and seems happy with his new
kitten, it doesn't take long before things go a little off. Zowie,
Drew's dog, dies after the sheriff Gus makes him put the dog outside.
The two boys learn about the Creed family from the first film and
decide to bury Zowie in the pet cemetery. Zowie comes back changed
and different. He attacks the sheriff and won't let anyone except
Drew near him. After Zowie attacks and kills Gus and the boys bury
him in the same cemetery, things get even darker.
Years
ago, when I was way too young to be reading Stephen King books, I
read Pet Sematary and later watched the movie. The scene of a dead
Pascal standing in the doorway completely traumatized me. At the
time, my bedroom had four doors leading to the house, outside, and to
the garage. Basically, no matter where I looked, there was a door
where I expected to see Pascal.
Pet
Sematary 2 was far less traumatizing to me. I remember first watching
it when it came out in the theaters, watching it later on video, and
eventually even getting a copy on DVD. Since I have no idea where my
copy is and it was about to expire on Netflix, I figured now was a
good time to watch it again. While it gets some terrible reviews, I
have to say that I like it.
Clancy
Brown is just plain amazing in this movie. As Gus, he is so downright
creepy and just plain mean that you can't wait to see him die, but
then you'll find that you like him even more when he comes back from
the dead. He pretty much spends the whole movie chewing on the
scenery, as if he knows that he's in a bad movie.
And
while it is bad, Pet Sematary is bad in a completely fun and
ridiculous way! It's the type of movie where you see Anthony Edwards
enjoying a sex scene with his dead wife and the woman suddenly
transforms into a half woman/half wolf hybrid. It's also probably the
last “good” movie that Edward Furlong appeared in before his
career tanked. While I do have a fondness for some of his bad later
films, this was one of the last fun ones he did.
Is Pet
Sematary 2 absolutely anything like the original film? Not at all.
The only thing it really has in common is the cemetery itself. While
you would expect the residents of the town to freak out given what
happened in the last movie, they barely mention it or talk about it.
Despite that, it's actually a pretty enjoyable movie. Pet Sematary 2
is definitely the type of movie you want to watch with some friends
so you can laugh and point out all the ridiculous moments together.
