Pet Sematary (1989)

A family relocates from Chicago to a small town in Maine. Their neighbor (Fred Gwynne) leads the family to an old pet cemetery where children bury their pets. When the daughter's (Blaze Berdahl) pet cat is run over by a truck, the neighbor takes the father (Dale Midkiff) to a burial ground hidden beyond the pet cemetery to bury the cat. Then, the horror begins. Based on the novel by Stephen King (who adapted his book for the screen) and directed by Mary Lambert (SIESTA). Probably one of the weakest films made from a Stephen King book. I really liked King's novel and his screenplay isn't bad but poor casting and Lambert's inferior direction (which often elicits unintentional laughs) do the movie in. Midkiff gives a truly horrendous performance and it doesn't help that he and Denise Crosby as his wife are dull actors. As the child returning from the dead, Miko Hughes is more amusing (he looks like a Chucky doll) than frightening. A sequel was released in 1992 and a remake in 2019. With Brad Greenquist and Stephen King.