Pet Sematary - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Pet Sematary



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I thought that today’s review for Pet Sematary was going to be easy (this being the 5th and final film in the Paramount Scares: Vol 1 set) because I SWORE that I had reviewed the 4K disc when it came out in 2019. I mean, I remember it vividly. Only thing was, it was all in my imagination. It was the 2018 film and the 1990s sequel that I reviewed, but sadly not the original one, which means it was time to sit down and rewatch the movie from beginning to end for the review (oh the horrors).

Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) and his wife Rachel (Denise Crosby, otherwise known as Tasha Yar on TNG) have just moved to a rural town in the north of Maine to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Louis is a doctor and has just accepted a position as chief medical officer at a local college, and they’re ready to restart their lives in rural America. Everything is going swimmingly at first, with the local neighbors accepting them right off the bat, including their eccentric neighbor across the street, Jud (Fred Gwynne). But things get weird fast, as the very next day Louis is forced to work on a young man who was hit by a truck that same day. The accident may not be weird, but before his death the young man whispers a warning to Dr. Creed, and somehow knows his name without being told.

When the family cat, Church, is hit by a car near their house leaving poor Dr. Creed trying to figure out a way to tell his children. However, instead of heeding the warning by the dying man, the doctor takes Church out past the local pet sematary into an old Indian burial ground, somehow returning Church to life. While everyone thinks its a miracle, Jud knows exactly what’s going on, and soon the Creed family is wrapped up in a nightmare of supernatural evens that could swallow him and his entire family hole.

Stephen King is notoriously known for saying that “Pet Sematary” was the one story that even he thought to himself “hmmm, I think I went too far”, as it is one of THE creepiest films that I’ve ever seen with King’s name on it. I think it has to do with the fact that the main “villain” at the end of the story happens to be a reincarnated child. And not just a child, but a REALLY evil one that had that old “late 80s/early 90s” Chucky animation quality to it. Needless to say, it’s not just the child violence implied, but the heavy doses of mysticism and personal loss as Dr. Creed quite literally ends up destroying his own family just to reunite with a dead loved one.

Even to this day Pet Sematary remains one of my most loved horror classics. It’s got that right amount of gore, creepy spiritualism, and hammy dialog that just WORKS. I’ll fight to my dying breath defending 1980s horror, but really, Pet Sematary needs no defense. It is a classic film that just works on so many levels. Plus, it has a young and smoking hot Denise Crosby in the role of the mother. What’s not to love?




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

According to Paramount, Pet Sematary has received a fairly solid remaster oversaw by director Mary Lambert for this restoration, which results in a very nice looking 2160p disc to enjoy. The picture is very filmic, with a nice, natural, coating of film grain over the entire image. Colors really sparkle despite the slightly contrast boosted aesthetic of the film, with green grasses, red shirts, and deep inky blacks standing out the most. The entire Pet Sematary itself looks fantastic, with lusciously green grasses, dark wooden browns, and a somber darkness laid over the top without obscuring detail levesl. I did notice skin tones looked just a tad on the red side, but nothing that would be noticeable unless you’re really looking at things. There are a few mildly softer shots here and there where it looks a bit more processed and smoothed out than I’d like, so I’m assuming that there was some sort of grain management done to the picture, but it’s nowhere near DNR’d to death or waxy looking ala Face/Off or the like. All in all, this is a nice tonal upgrade to the Blu-ray, and adds some extra details and a much stronger color saturation level thanks to the judicious use of HDR. However, the biggest beneficiary is the black levels, which really get a boost in shown detail as well as lack of banding and milkiness that the Blu-ray had. All in all, this is a fantastic looking release.








Audio:

Paramount has opted to not upmix the track to Atmos, but instead transfer across the 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix from the old Blu-ray, which is not a bad thing. It’s a very solid track despite the fact that its fairly front heavy and doesn’t utilize a ton of back speaker activity outside of the creepy score. Dialog is still well placed up front and perfectly intelligible at all times, but there is a slight “hollow” sound that is indicative of the 1980s. Most likely a recording issue that makes dialog not sound as “in your face” as modern mixes. And while the front gets a majority of the activity, the surrounds are still decently rich and active with the score and a few stand out points in the movie (such as the Mac truck running over the son, or the rush of wind in the background of the pet sematary itself). Bass adds some ooomph to the accident and accentuates the score, but isn’t wildly aggressive either. It tends to just add some light balance to the mix and not be too noticeable.












Extras:

• BRAND NEW 4K REMASTER OF THE FILM SUPERVISED BY DIRECTOR MARY LAMBERT
• A look back at this classic with the cast and crew of 2019's Pet Sematary
• Revisualization - interview with Mary Lambert
• three behind the scenes galleries, including never before seen storyboards
• Director Mary Lambert shares memories of the movie
• Fear and remembrance
• Audio commentary by director Mary Lambert

Final Score: ​

Pet Sematary was the film that always creeped me out as a child, and still creeps me out to this day. The little demonic child at the end has got to be one of the nastiest and gut twisting bits of 1980s horror, and the film has the perfect ambiance to it. Paramount Pictures new 4K remaster is gorgeous to behold, although it recycles the Blu-ray’s 5.1 audio mix instead of doing an Atmos remix (which I’m actually fine with. Definitely a great buy on it’s own, and the perfect cherry on top for the Paramount Scares set. Great buy.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Dale Midkiff, Densie Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenqist, Miko Hughes, Blaze Berdahl
Directed by: Mary Lambert
Written by: Stephen King
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese DD 5.1, Russian DD 5.1, Spanish, Hungarian, Portuguse DD Mono
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Thai
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 103 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 24th, 2023

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Great classic movie.