The underlying idea in "Pet Sematary" seems to be that when people are brought back from the dead, they have all their brains, but no souls. Definitely a cool idea, but for some reason it is never expanded, explained, or even mentioned. Theology aside, even the science of what's going on is unclear. How come Timmy, when raised from the dead, staggers around like your run-of-the-mill zombie, while little Gage actually seems smarter and suddenly knows how to operate a telephone? It's all very sloppily done. In fact, the only explanation at all for why the cemetery does what it does is that the ground is "sour." Sorry, but that doesn't really cut it for me. If the movie had focused more on the mystery of the cemetery, it would have been a fantastic thriller. Unfortunately, it ditches the interesting stuff, and instead turns into a "Tales of the Crypt" episode about a crazy toddler with a knife.
Of course, there's still a lot to like about this movie. If it's main intention is to scare you, it certainly does it's job. The scene with Zelda is one of the scariest things I've ever seen, and the death of Gage is very upsetting and hard to watch. The mysterious Judd is arguably one of the coolest movie characters of all time (and to be honest, I was so upset when he died, I completely lost interest in the rest). And while at first it seems a bit odd for a zombie with half his head missing to be the comic relief, somehow it works. But even though it has its good parts, not nearly enough attention is given to the intriguing premise, and it ultimately turns into a cheesy spook story. Too bad, because it could have been a lot more.
Of course, there's still a lot to like about this movie. If it's main intention is to scare you, it certainly does it's job. The scene with Zelda is one of the scariest things I've ever seen, and the death of Gage is very upsetting and hard to watch. The mysterious Judd is arguably one of the coolest movie characters of all time (and to be honest, I was so upset when he died, I completely lost interest in the rest). And while at first it seems a bit odd for a zombie with half his head missing to be the comic relief, somehow it works. But even though it has its good parts, not nearly enough attention is given to the intriguing premise, and it ultimately turns into a cheesy spook story. Too bad, because it could have been a lot more.