Pet Sematary

When the Creed family move to an idyllic woodland house, they discover that it is close to a burial ground for local pets, as well as a Native American site that has a more sinister history. Darker, bleaker and with more depth than the 1989 film version, this solid adaptation of Stephen King's bestseller deviates from the original text in surprising ways, addressing the themes of loss and mortality, and allowing the creepy Wendigo spirit to come into its own. Among the cast, Jeté Laurence nails her role as the moppet who gets a zombie makeover, despite the warnings of John Lithgow's affable old timer. Amid the more streamlined frights, Starry Eyes directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer conjure a macabre atmosphere, most effectively felt in the morbid poignancy of the trucks that thunder past the Creeds' new home.