Pet Sematary

Given the nature of his stories about animals and people becoming violent, murderous zombies when this is done, why does he encourage the good doctor to bury a cat there so it will come back? And why does the doctor later do the same thing when his son is killed, despite all evidence that this will be a very dumb move?

And finally, the "Chucky" problem.

Despite its success at the box office, "Child's Play" last year, about a slasher doll called "Chucky," was completely unconvincing and even ludicrous because no matter how it scowled that little doll was just not very menacing.

The same thing happens here when the doctor's little boy comes back as a zombie toddler. Having the child scowl into the camera just prompts laughter from the audience. And when he goes after people with scalpel in hand, you may wonder why someone doesn't just pick him up and spank him!

It's just all too silly, and on top of the inherent problems, director Mary Lambert ("Siesta") allows the final third of the film to sink under a mound of slasher-movie cliches. Meanwhile, her two lead players — Dale Midkiff and Denise Crosby — perform so stiffly they seem more like zombies than the zombies. The children are also rather stiff, particularly Blaze Berdahl as the young daughter. (Only Fred Gwynne as the neighbor remains unscathed.)

Suffice it to say "Pet Sematary" is a dreadful failure on several counts, although that hasn't stopped King fans from storming the theaters, making this the biggest opening ever for a King film and a record-setter for an opening weekend this time of year.

Oh, well. They made "Cujo" a hit too.

"Pet Sematary" is rated R for considerable violence, gore and profanity.