Original PET SEMATARY Director Mary Lambert Discusses The Terrifying Film's Legacy
The original 1989 film adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary might just be one of the scariest films that I’ve seen. I had nightmares for months after watching it with a group of friends on VHS. That movie kind of messed me up, and I love it for that. I’ve been chasing those feelings of terror ever since.
The director of the film, Mary Lambert, recently sat down for an interview with ComingSoon, and she opened up about the film’s legacy. She said:
”Oh, wow. I don’t know, exactly. I feel really lucky to have been given that opportunity at that stage in my career, — to work with Stephen King, who’s a really amazing storyteller and dramatist. I, personally, have always been a storyteller, but my craft with narrative, I’m more of a visual person than a word person.”
She went on to say that it was King’s ability as a writer that played a huge factor in the film’s success and also discussed their collaboration, saying:
”To be able to work with a wordsmith like Stephen King and someone who knows how to craft a story arc and to craft the characters and to fit it all into this beautiful narrative structure … it was really an important thing for me to do, for me personally to do.
“I feel like we came together in a collaboration, with his words and my pictures. I feel like I was able to achieve something that changes people a little bit when they see it, and hopefully … horror movies are there so that you can get your fears out in the open and laugh at them — that’s what they’re for. Or maybe not laugh at them, but at least give a nod to them and go, ‘Okay, I’m looking at you, I’m dealing with it’. I feel like with Pet Sematary, each one of the characters personifies a different fear that you, as an audience, can kind of walk through those fears until you can finally look the really horrible one in the face, which is the idea of losing someone you love, like a child.”
Pet Sematary revolves around the Creed family—Louis, Rachel, and their two children—who move to a rural town in Maine. Their new home comes with an unsettling secret: an ancient native american burial ground in the nearby woods that has the power to bring the dead back to life. When tragedy strikes and the family cat is killed, Louis turns to the mysterious burial ground, leading to unintended and horrifying consequences. In the process, the Creed family faces the horrific and deadly repercussions of meddling with the supernatural.
What was your experience like watching Pet Sematary for the first time?