Pet Sematary - Stephen King

Considering that, in recent years at least, Stephen King has become increasingly hit-and-miss in delivering his horror classics, the late eighties proved to be something of a purple-patch for the veteran American author. 1987?s The Eyes Of The Dragon signalled a fairly radical one-off change for King, both in writing style and in genre, though the end result was a highly atmospheric and innovative fantasy tale. Later that year came Misery; a gut-wrenching lesson in pure horror, featuring one of King?s trademark psychotic villains. And finally, we have Pet Sematary, which was something of a return to ...  Read the complete review

Pet Sematary is a bit of a strange old book, and that's saying something for a Stephen King story. On one hand it's a good and scary basis for a spine-chilling tale, on the other you can tell what's coming from a mile off which nullifies the suspense aspect somewhat. However, without further ado, here is the basic plot, cut cruelly short before you get to spot the awful inevitability. Dr. Louis Creed moves with his family from the Windy City of Chicago into the rural setting of Maine. He's pleased with the choice. This is somewhere safe for their children to play and grow. Plenty of places to explore. Especially the wood just tucked up behind ...  Read the complete review

I found this a good read but it doesn't really get going until the second half although it does keep you gripped. My only gripe was that I wanted to know what happens after the story ends. Although nothing is left unfinished it did feel like something needed to be said with regards to how the charcters carried on. I especially wanted to know how certain things were explained away, like people returning from the dead. I also felt that some things could have been brought to the forefront more, like the daughter having possible psychic powers. It more then hinted at it, as it mentions her dreams and pictures she drew but it doesn't really go into enough ...  Read the complete review

Stephen King, born September 21st 1947 in Portland Maine, renound for his horror fiction, science fiction and other books. Bring us Pet Semetary a cleverly written horror novel, that has been a personal favourite of mine for many years. The story follows both Louis Creed and his wife Rachel along with his two children Gage and Ellie, and of course her cat Winston Churchill "Church" for short. They have moved there due to Louis new office opening, they soon become friends with the neighbours Jud, with him sort of becoming a father role for Louis who's father died at a young age. Jud warns Louis about the road as it has endless trucks driving ...  Read the complete review

If you are a regular reader of my opinions, by now you will know that my specialist subject (as they say on Mastermind) are books by Stephen King. I say books, rather than films, as some of the adaptations of his work lose so much in transfer onto the big screen. Pet Sematary is one such film. Luckily I had read the book first, then the film came out many years later and whilst the story followed exactly the same plot I was really disappointed, it did not conjure up the same feelings of sheer horror as the book did, or maybe my imagination is better than the film makers. I also think it was a big mistake to use the actor that played Herman Munster in such a film ...  Read the complete review