The non-profit organization Women in Film embarked on a challenge called 52 Films by Women. The campaign is to get people to watch one film a week directed by a woman. Incorporating the hashtag #52FilmsByWomen, it’s a really great idea both for the industry and our culture as a whole. So while picking out some movies to watch, I stumbled upon ‘Pet Sematary’, the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. The horror film is today’s Throwback Thursday, a look at sci-fi of the past.
Though I wish I had encyclopedic knowledge of cinema, I had to venture to learn Mary Lambert directed Pet Sematary. It happened to be on some listicle with a title basically saying, “Here’s a list of movies that were surprisingly directed by a woman.” Whereas it’s important we get to a point were a woman directing any genre shouldn’t be surprising, I’m glad I learned about Lambert’s varied career ranging from music videos to horror movies.
Like many family-based horror movies, the Creeds have decided to relocate to a beautiful house in the countryside completely oblivious to the otherworldly threats that surround them. In this case, the paranormal factor is a pet cemetery, a final resting place for animals meeting a sudden demise on a nearby highway. However, when the Creed’s cat Church (still a pet name I’ll never understand) succumbs to the vicious highway, he’s buried in a Micmac burial ground near the cemetery. Later he comes back to life, but as we know with any Stephen King adaptation, a more formidable horror follows.
Lambert went on to direct the sequel, as well as ‘Urban Legends: Bloody Mary’. She’s also directed a number of documentaries and TV movies and episodics. She’s attached to direct ‘The Executioner’ about a group of teens stuck in a haunted prison.
