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Rating: "The heart of a man is harder than stone. Every man nurtures his own affections as he can and takes care of the creatures he loves. Because the love for the people we care about is the true, unique wealth. And love is a feeling that even surpasses the insurmountable limit of death" (*)
I was undecided whether to put the quote at the beginning or the end of the review, but then I preferred this way, so that the meaning is clear from the start and where it originates from.
How far can love for another person go? What would we be willing to do? Love can be strange at times. Have you ever felt affection for, or known someone who cares for a person who (in quotes) wouldn't deserve the slightest consideration from the other? If someone very dear to you were completely different from whom you know, would you love them just the same?
At this point, you might think I'm babbling numbers or you may already be getting bored thinking about where I'm going, but the meaning of the subject in question is all encapsulated here.
The movie is a bit trivial, but not entirely dismissable. Unfortunately, it moves too quickly and fails (but how could it have) to evoke the many sensations that through the book insidiously weave slowly into the reader, page after page. Sensations difficult to describe, which I can summarize by saying that this is one of the "King's" works he himself was afraid to publish. After writing it, inspired by actual events, both he and his wife Tabitha were left shocked and it stayed in the drawer for quite some time. Moreover, by popular demand (mostly fans) it is considered one of his best novels, and if my opinion can interest you, I believe it is indeed a disturbing book, like few others in this genre of literature, both for the themes addressed, the underlying story, and for the terrifying ending.
"On a clear late summer day, the Creed family moves to a quiet suburb in a Maine town.
Not far from their home, at the center of a clearing, stands Pet Sematary, a burial ground for pets, where the neighborhood kids, according to an ancient tradition, would bury their beloved animals. But soon the serene existence of the Creeds is unsettled by a series of disturbing events and the sudden reawakening of dark and evil forces... Pet Sematary is not a common pet cemetery. An ancient Indian legend says this place holds very dangerous magical powers." (*)
... but someone, wanting to know what it was all about, went further and buried their pets not far from Pet Sematary, on barren and hard ground, where once stood a Micmac Indian cemetery.
Among these children was a certain Jud Crandall, the Creed's neighbor, a quiet and wise old man who soon becomes, over beers, Louis Creed’s best friend, who knew very well what it was about, having lived in Ludlow since childhood. Louis, however, was unaware of what would soon happen, but he quickly learned, having to wait for Church, his daughter’s kitten, to be run over on the road.
I don’t want to disclose too many details, not to spoil the surprise for those unfamiliar with the book or who haven’t seen the film, I’ll just tell you that the ending is one of the most terrifying you can imagine and that in the last scene, the movie seems almost ironic, while the book does not, as it leaves to the reader's imagination what will happen after Rachel’s return home, in full King style.
The film was scripted by the writer himself, who also plays a small role as the priest performing the burial rite for little Gage, the protagonist of it all, the key figure of the story.
Inspired by the novel, the Ramones wrote the namesake song also used as a soundtrack. Stephen King is a great fan of the punk band in question, and the tanker truck driver that runs over Gage listens to "Sheena is a Punkrocker" at high volume, distracted from driving... the child's shoe will be found in Atropo’s den by Ralph and Lois, the protagonists of "Insomnia"... but that’s another story.
(*) from the book and also cited in the film
(**) from the cover flap.
PS. I would have given the book 5 stars.
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