Sometimes Dead is Better: "Pet Sematary" (1989) as a Meditation on Grief

Thirty-two years later, Mary Lambert's film adaptation of Stephen King's 1983 novel remains an unparalleled examination of the psychological impact of losing a loved one.

When I was six years old, my family had a pet hamster. We named him Frisky. We kept him in the basement. He loved his wheel, peeing on strangers, and trying to crawl up pant legs.

Then, one morning, we noticed something was wrong. His body was bloated and his face was puffy. My parents took him to the vet that day while my brother and I went off to summ…