Stephen King fans who are familiar with the 1989 adaptation of his novel Pet Sematary were eager to see what the 2019 film would be like. There’s not much that is creepier or scarier than someone coming back from the dead, and this story turns that idea on its head and asks, what if animals could come back, too?
Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz star as Dr. Louis and Rachel Creed, a married couple who moves their family to a tiny town in Maine, hoping for a quieter, better life. While spending more time together is the goal, it’s clear from the first few minutes of the movie that nothing is what it seems in this house and the surrounding area, and nothing good is going to happen. Here are the 10 scariest scenes from Pet Sematary, ranked.
Louis Realizes His Dream Is Real
There’s nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night from a bad nightmare and not being sure what’s real and what’s not. For Louis, he realizes that the dream that he just had is definitely real. He dreams about Victor, the kid who died at the hospital where he works as a doctor, and then has dirt on his feet. This is connected to the pet sematary that just so happens to be behind their new house (awesome).
While this is definitely a scary scene, it’s not a jump scare or enough to make audiences shudder too much. That’s why it’s ranked number 10 on this list. It does set the creepy tone of the film, though, and it does its job.
Ellie Watches Kids Having A Funeral At The Pet Sematary
Horror movie kids are often super terrifying, mostly because kids represent innocence and basically everything that is the opposite of horror movie fare. Ellie Creed (Jeté Laurence) is adorable (well, at least at the beginning of the film, but more on that later) and she makes a tough discovery near the start of the movie.
One of the movie’s scariest scenes is when Ellie watches kids having a funeral at the pet sematary behind the house. She can tell that something strange is going on, but like most children, she’s curious but kind of brushes it aside. Because it’s a brief moment and then the story lurches on, this moment is ranked at number 9.
8. Ellie Dancing
After Ellie is killed and then comes back, she wants her dad to watch her dance, and as she dances for a while, she keeps breaking stuff. It’s an incredibly creepy scene that is pretty alarming to see.
Anyone who thinks that ressurection is a good idea would definitely change their mind after this scene, which is ranked number 8 on our list.
The Family Is Together At The End
Louis, Rachel, and Ellie are all dead at the end of the movie, and there’s only one thing left to do: kill Gage (Hugo & Lucas Lavoie). They’re sitting in the family car and the dad looks at Gage who approaches, and it’s obvious that they’re going to murder him so they can all be together.
This scene is ranked at number 7 because it’s definitely scary, but because we don’t see anything and it’s just simply implied, it’s not quite as terrifying as some of the other moments.
Jud Says To Stay Away From The Forest
Things start getting even scarier when Jud Crandall (John Lithgow) lets the Creed clan know that the forest near their new home probably isn’t the best place to explore.
When Jud says to stay away, this scene comes at the beginning of the movie, and it’s number six on the list as it’s when the film’s creepy tone really starts asserting itself. There is no way to think that is your typical house and forest after this.
Ellie Kills Jud
Now it’s time to get into the creepiest parts of Pet Sematary. When Ellie kills Jud, it’s horrifying and seems to come out of nowhere, even though of course by this time, audiences know that she’s come back from the dead and is nowhere close to the sweet girl she was before.
She goes to his house, chats with him, and even looks like Norma, his beloved wife who has passed on. Then she stabs him. One of the scariest moments in the movie, it takes the number five spot, and it’s sure to stick with anyone who has seen it.
The Truck Runs Over Church The Cat And He Comes Back
Losing the family pet is always heartbreaking, and watching it unfold in a movie is just as tough. In the case of the 2019 Pet Sematary, the Creed family witnesses their cat, Church, being run over by a truck.
This is the impetus of it all, of course: Jud and lays Church to rest in the pet sematary, and Church is back the following day. Well, a different version of him is back: a mean, awful version. It’s definitely scary and it’s number four on the list for that reason.
Ellie Comes Back From The Dead
In the 1989 film, the toddler Gage is killed by a truck, and in the 2019 version, it’s Ellie who meets this sad, tragic fate. Louis can’t handle losing his beloved daughter and so he resurrects her thanks to the help of the pet sematary.
He wants her to come back from the dead, and she does… and it’s so much scarier than he or anyone could ever imagine. This is the third scariest scene in the movie. Sweet, innocent Ellie, with her long red hair, is now totally and completely evil. (Shudder.)
Rachel Sees Zelda, Her Super Creepy Sister
Everyone remembers Zelda, the sister of the mom in Pet Sematary who is incredibly hard to look at. She’s in this movie, too, and her scene is the second scariest in the whole movie.
Rachel starts remembering growing up with her sibling, who was sick with spinal meningitis. Rachel has always felt responsible for her death since she was supposed to bring her dinner but instead, put it in the house’s dumbwaiter, and Zelda had an accident that resulted in her death. The image of this extremely creepy figure will haunt audiences forever, that’s for sure.
Ellie Kills Her Mom
Hands down, the scariest scene in the 2019 Pet Sematary film is when Ellie kills her mom. She straight-up stabs her and it’s such a crazy moment.
Even though we know that Ellie is evil now, we wouldn’t expect her to murder her own parents. It’s just too much to even think about. This is just one of the tragedies that goes down in the movie, and it leads to the ending, when the Creed family is going to be together literally forever (as long as they can make sure that Gage is undead too, of course).
