“Pet Sematary” as Cultural Value

Abstract

This article offers a review of Shelley McMurdo’s monograph Pet Sematary (1989), devoted to the first film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1983 novel, directed by Mary Lambert, and published in the Devil’s Advocates series. McMurdo contends that Lambert’s film has long been dismissed as culturally insignificant and sets out to elevate its cultural status. She maintains that the work should not be classified as Gothic Horror but rather as what she terms “Grief Horror.” Situating Pet Sematary within a range of thematic contexts, McMurdo addresses questions of traditional values, arguing that the  film constituted an assault on the Reagan-era American dream. Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that the film was directed by a woman, who, due to her gender, faced considerable challenges during both the production process and its subsequent critical reception. In light of the commercially and critically unsuccessful 2019 remake, McMurdo concludes that Lambert’s original has undergone a positive critical reappraisal. The present author challenges this view, arguing that the cultural significance of the remake also warrants re-evaluation. The article concludes with a brief discussion of Lindsey Anderson Beer’s Pet Sematary: Bloodlines—a streaming-released prequel to the 2019 remake—which received even more negative reviews than the latter, thereby casting Lambert’s adaptation in an even more favourable light. Ultimately, the author maintains that all cinematic adaptations of Pet Sematary possess cultural value and together constitute a coherent fictional universe.