The Message of 'Pet Semetary'

One of the biggest issues with remaking a film is when the spirit of the original gets lost in the mix. 1989 saw the release of the film adaptation of one of Stephen King's career defining novels, Pet Semetary. The book was one that King, himself, was reluctant to release, but did so to fulfill a contractual obligation. He was reluctant not because he thought it was subpar, but rather because he thought it was too scary. It scared him.

2019 brought a remake of the now classic and cult status film and I fear that despite critical acclaim and financial success they missed the spirit of the original story.

Going back, King stated that inspiration for the book came from situations in his own life that mirrored events in the story, where in he had to explain death to his young daughter after her cat was killed by a passing motorist and his young son came terrifyingly close to meeting a similar demise to the character of Gage. Like any good author, King took very real events and ramped them up into the realm of supernatural horror. But, King has gone on record as saying that Pet Semetary is the one book that terrified him and still does.

But why?

This goes back to where Stephen King was in his life when he conceived the novel, which is where Louis Creed is in the book and films. He was a father of young children. Fatherhood is a scary time, because you are suddenly thrust into this realm where you are responsible not just for providing for people, but directly responsible for their survival.

There comes these moments, as fathers, where your children do something, or get near something, and you come within seconds of losing them forever. A few heartbeats too late and you face utter and complete devastation, and that feeling doesn't go away easily. It can haunt you with "what could have happened" for a long time.

King found himself giving a voice to all those fears through the character of Louis Creed. Louis represents a father trying to provide for and protect his family and mostly spends the story failing terribly in his role. First, he drops the ball as a husband as Rachel expresses her aversion to the topic of death due to her severe childhood trauma. He responds by giving her valium and letting her sleep it off. This event details the difference between the family man depicted in movies and television in the 50s and 60s, where in the man of the house didn't have to deal with big emotions. But, this also illustrates whats wrong with that model, because Rachel clearly needed comfort and closure for that event, not for it to be packed away and ignored.

Then comes the cat. When the family cat, Church, is killed by a truck he chooses not to be straight with his daughter, and instead lies to her because, as he puts it, "She'll be devastated." Not only is this event lifted from King's life, it also sets up the spirit of the story.

The whole thing comes to a head with the other major event from King's life, but unlike the author himself, Louis is tragically too late to save young Gage.

What follows is a series of fantasy horror events that ends with Ellie, the soul survivor of the Creed household, and the bearer of the tragedy and devastation that comes with losing one's whole family. What Louis sought to avoid came upon them a hundred fold.

This is where the 2019 film misses the mark, as it removes this element of the father's mistakes haunting the lone survivor. Rather, it implies the Creeds live on as one big murderous, undead family. The removal of that element curtails the point, that short cutting, and not facing the hard choices with your family as your first priority, can make the best of intentions end horribly. Instead we are left with... nothing. No lesson, no moral, just an oddly predictable ending which turned a morality tale into... nothing at all.

Thanks for reading.