It's a wonderfully spooky premise, but King's sketch script, Lambert's ponderous direction and a lackluster cast don't make a strong case for it.

Reduced to its plot outlines, King`s work no longer functions; its meaning lies in the obscure tensions and anxieties that shape the fantasy, not in what happens, but why.

Overall, the acting in Pet Sematary is hit or miss. But when it hits, it's a bullseye.

Bad script, bad acting and bad budget.