A few days ago I mentioned that Damien from The Omen was one of the scariest children in horror. Today’s film has what I consider to be the scariest kid in any movie. Little Gage from Pet Sematary freaks me out more than Regan, more than Damien and certainly more than The Village of the Damned kids.
It all starts when the Creed family moves into a beautiful country house in Maine. The only danger the house seems to hold is the street out front that is busy with 18 wheelers. Soon they discover a pet cemetery out behind their house and beyond that, an old Indian burial ground with a strange legend of resurrection.
When the family pet, Church, is hit by a car and killed, Louis takes him out to the burial ground to bring him back before his children know it has even happened. When Church comes back, he is different. He has become evil and smells like death. It isn’t long before tragedy strikes again. The baby in the family, little 2 year old Gage, runs out into the street and is hit by a truck. Unable to let nature take its toll, Louis makes another trip to the burial ground with Gage.
Miko Hughes, who plays Gage, is the cutest baby ever. Most of you will remember him as the “Boys have penises, girls have vaginas” kid from Kindergarten Cop. His death is so sad but his resurrection is horrifying to me. He has that top hat and cane and that little dress on that looks the dress that the mothers sister Zelda wore in flashbacks. He has that little scalpel in his hand and that awful giggle. It’s strange how something so cute can be so scary.
Speaking of Zelda, she gave me the worst nightmares. This girl is supposed to be thirteen years old but she looks fifty. Her body was twisted and deformed. And that awful voice…I don’t think I have ever gotten it out of my head.
Fred Gwynn (The Munsters) is a fantastic addition to the cast as the neighbor Judd, a role that no other could play as well as he did. Denise Crosby (Ray Donovan) has the worst ending of them all but her zombified face is pretty awesome.
Pet Sematary is one of my favorite Stephen King film adaptations and one of my favorite zombie films. It teaches you to quite literally let sleeping dogs lie. Nothing good can come from messing with nature unless you want your whole family to be slaughtered by the undead.
Carrying on with this month’s Stephen King theme, be sure to add Pet Sematary to your viewing this Halloween.
