The stage curtains open ...

The film starts out with Stephen King talking about his book, Pet Sematary, at a UMass event and his expression was that he didn't think anyone would want to read anything like it, so he put it in a drawer. That was the most interesting part of the documentary, at least to me, and it was gone far too quickly.

Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary isn't anything significant or noteworthy. This documentary could just as well have been in the Bonus Materials section of the DVD or BluRay to this movie. It was more of a sentimental journey as we remembered one of our favorite horror films brought to the screen. There were some interesting little factoids here and there, but certainly nothing that was "unearthed" or "untold". These are some common stories that we've already heard before surrounding the production of the movie.

It does have interviews will all the actors involved with the film, and it was fun to see what they look like today and some of the stories they had to share. But, in the long run, this was a bit of a yawner. If you are passionate about this film, then you would enjoy this. For the average movie goer, however, there is nothing special here.

Contains a handful of amusing stories and footage from the set but suffers from being somewhat disjointed, overly self congratulatory and just not that interesting. Also lacks context so if you haven't seen Pet Sematary in a while or don't remember it well, you'll be lost as to what scene people are talking about exactly and when it happens in the movie.

If you're a Pet Sematary mega fan and need to know how they chose the house to film in, this'll do OK(not great), otherwise - skip it.

I need to get this out of the way first thing. I may be really, really biased on my enjoyment of this. Most of Pet Sematary was shot less than 50 miles from where I live and I know many of those locations well.

The directors did a wonderful job creating a very well put together documentary. Their interviews with cast members and people involved with the film, coupled with revisiting of the locations were a fantastic insight into the behind the scenes of the film. I learned a ton about the film I didn't know.

You can tell this was a labor of love project from the filmmakers. It definitely shows. A must watch for fans of the movie, Stephen King fans, or people from the area in Maine.

My rating: 9/10

Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary: 5 out of 10: A behind the scenes look at the making of the film Pet Sematary with interviews thirty years later from the cast and crew and the locals where the film was made.

The Good: If your name or the name of a family member appear on the credits this will be a treat. If you live nearby the filming locations and drive past them on a daily basis or if your curious what the actors look like now and don't have access to Google this film is for you.

The Bad: Pet Semetry is one of my favorite books. Not just Stephen King books mind you but books overall. The movie is ... okay. For fans of the movie (and to a lesser extent the book), this film provides dozens of anecdotes and trivia about the filming. The kind of thing you hear at a panel discussion at a second-string Comic Convention. You know "So Gage was thirsty and the second unit director had to stop filming because he was too parched and everyone was scrambling for a water bottle and then Mary Sue remembered she had a water bottle in the cup holder of her Astovan and it turns out it that was the first year that they had put cup holders in those vans and she ran and got the water bottle and gave it to the AD which is what we call the Assistant Director who got it to Gage and the scene was saved."

The filming of Pet Sematary, from what I gather from the dozens of anecdotes of this film, was a fairly uneventful shoot. Everyone basically got along and some locals were hired as extras or to help build props and sets. There is no overall theme, people didn't realize they were making a film that would shake the foundations of our civilization and most tragically nothing terribly interesting (good or bad) happened.

Now a talented documentary filmmaker can squeeze excitement out of ordinary stories about ordinary lives but even Errol Morris would have trouble punching up this material.

The Ugly: Guess who doesn't have rights to show clips from the movie Pet Sematary? I hope you just saw the film or are some superfan who has every scene memorized cause that will come in handy when trying to make sense of many of the stories.

There is also (despite being in the credits) a lack of the man himself in the documentary. Stephen King is someone I imagine who could have punched this up with a story or two.

In Conclusion: If this was an extra on the Blu-ray release of Pet Sematary I would consider it an above average (if overlong) extra. As a stand-alone documentary, even the titular Pet Sematary itself couldn't bring this dead horse to life.

Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary (2017)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

It seems like this documentary on the making of PET SEMATARY came out of nowhere with very little pre-release buzz and now that the film is available it seems no one is really talking about it. That's really too bad because not only do you get interviews with the director, Mary Lambert and most of the cast members, there's also a great section of extras and crew members from Maine.

In today's age where it seems every movie is getting a Blu-ray release with some nice extras, it's rare that something like this comes along where we not only hear about the director and cast but also the countless extras in it. This documentary covers a lot of ground from Stephen King's research on the subject, to his living in Maine and then the writing of the story. We also cover the trouble it took to get the film to the big screen including the two rules King had for the film.

One of those rules was that the film had to be shot in Maine and this is where the documentary gets really great. We get to hear from so many of the locals who share their stories of Hollywood invading their small town and making this picture. We get to hear from some of the locals who ended up with memorable parts in the film as well as people who loaned their home to the studio so that the film could be made. There's all sorts of great stuff on display here and getting to see and hear things from the small town's perspective was quite entertaining.

The director and cast all look back on the making of the film with a lot of joy and there are some great behind-the-scenes production photos and some video. You get to see many of the locations that were used and how they look today. Pretty much, if you're a fan of the film then you're going to want to check this out as there just so much wonderful information to learn.

When I first heard about this documentary through Facebook, I remember being really excited about it. The excitement heightened when I met Denise Crosby and Mary Lambert back at Texas Frightmare Weekend in 2012. I remember going up to Denise and asking about this film, and her reaction was so exciting, and she said "Oh, there's a website! You should go check it out!" It only exhilarated my excitement, and I could not wait for this film to come out. It was worth the wait. Unearthed And Untold: The Path To Pet Sematary gives an in depth look at what it was like to shoot the film based off of one of the most mysterious masterpieces of the Stephen King books-Pet Sematary. The cast interviews are so apparent and so appealing that I actually felt like I was on set, and it was amazing to watch. The cast interviews include almost every cast member from the film. It includes the locals of Maine, and it even includes an interview with the lady that built the Pet Sematary (yes, that's how it's spelled) that inspired Stephen King. Furthermore, the film's cast interviews even included the people who did not have big roles, but some of the roles were very apparent for the film. For example, Andrew Hubastek (Zelda) gives an in depth interview about becoming one of the most terrifying characters in a horror film. Furthermore, my jaw dropped when I saw that the filmmakers interviewed the man that was the reason why the line "Sometimes, dead is better" became so apparent-Peter Strater aka "Timmy Baterman." Even though Fred Gwynne could not be interviewed for obvious reasons, the cast really spoke very highly of him, and I felt his presence was so powerful on this documentary. Unearthed And Untold The Path To Pet Sematary is a true element of talent that was created by two talented young men that are obvious fans of Pet Sematary. I would recommend John Campopiano and Justin White for any documentary because they put their hearts into this, and they definitely gave Pet Sematary the justice it deserves.

It's not an amazing documentary, but it's okay. There's some things that I didn't know (and failed to ever look it up, if I'm honest) like that a boy played Zelda. Since I've been interested in filmmaking for quite some time, I found that aspect of it really interesting as well.. even though it seems that a lot of reviews here disagree. I just recently got into going to a local horror convention, so I've missed seeing various cast at those types of things, so it was neat seeing them today talking about the film. Especially the girls who played Ellie (also didn't realize twins played her). It also made me really how much I miss Fred. He was a good actor and such a presence in the film. Probably one of my most favorite characters in it, honestly. I loved hearing what the cast had to say about him and how close they got with him.

Someone complained about how Stephen King wasn't involved in this and well..he only was on set for the first day, rehearsals, and for his one small scene..what would he have to offer in regards to the movie? Although I would've WAY preferred to hear from the man himself where he got the inspiration for the book, not his friend. But it was still interesting information anyways since it's one of my top favorite books of his.

Decent movie overall but a little lackluster. Made me want to revisit the movie again, though and all the gross and creepy scenes in it.

I saw PET SEMETARY when it was released with two of my best friends. Two of us had children about the age of the character Gage at the time and the other a nephew that age. When the film ended all three of us seemed to be in shock. It took a while for any of us to talk to one another and only once we got somewhere to eat dinner. We even went to another movie just to shake off the feelings we had from the film. It doesn't always leave that much of an impression on most viewers but when you have children, especially that same age, it leaves its mark.

I have never gone back to watch the film a second time, not when it came out on VHS or on disc. I still feel a sense of unease when I think about doing so. And yet after watching this film I think maybe it's time that I did so. It won't make viewing it any easier but it will allow me to appreciate the film from a different perspective.

UNEARTHED & UNTOLD is the story of how the film came to be and the creation of it. Beginning with the initial tale of how it was a script that no one wanted to film to a script that was so good and inexpensive that a studio finally gave the go ahead it takes on the journey from there. Once the selection of a director takes place things begin to move at a steadier and quicker pace. That person becomes the visionary that will take the film from the printed page to the screen. It would be a daunting task given that it is based on a book by a famous author, Stephen King, but perhaps even more so knowing he can stop by and watching filming on a daily basis. And yet King allowed director Mary Lambert enough freedom to polish his story into a terrifying film.

Having done only one feature film and mostly music videos prior to PET SEMETARY Lambert did a masterful job of creating a memorable film. She's one of many interviewed for this film to talk about the experiences they had getting the job accomplished. In addition to her story we get that of the actors from the film like Denise Crosby, Dale Midkiff and Miko Hughes. But unlike most documentaries of this sort we also hear from those behind the camera as well.

Not only are those who were in the business for some time before and after interviewed, many of the people who worked on location from the area in Maine where the movie was shot are on hand as well. As a matter of fact it is discussed often here how the state itself was a part of the film, a character if you will. Had they chosen to shoot on a back lot in LA the movie would not have had that same feeling of where the story takes place.

The locals whose houses were used in different scenes are interviewed with stills and some archival footage of them from the time it was made. Locations are shown today that were used in the film, many that look similar but most completely different now. And the fact that locations in different towns were used in sequences that took place in a matter of feet from one another makes for an interesting fact.

Directors John Campopiano and Justin White do a solid job of culminating the information they had on hand with the new footage shot for this film, the end result being an interesting look at the film from start to finish. Sadly, and I'm guessing due to legal or expense issues, there are no clips from the actual film. Those would have looked nice here alongside behind the scenes footage that is included. One would think Paramount would jump at the chance to promote an older title and rekindle an interest in it, if for no other reason than a boost in sales of a stock item. But such is the world today.

Movie lovers and horror lovers will want to give this film a look. When you can get a glimpse of what goes on behind the curtain it's always interesting. Die-hard fans of the film will want to make it a point of adding this to their collection. It will provide a nice bookend with the film for an evening double feature. Synapse has done another great job of providing the film in the best format possible with plenty of extra goodies. If you love PET SEMETARY then make a beeline for the nearest store or online choice you prefer and pick up a copy today.