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A doctor dabbles in magical resurrection with horrific consequences in this supernatural thriller adapted from the novel... by Stephen King. When Dr. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) and his family move from Chicago to an old farmhouse in rural Maine, their only concern is the busy highway that flanks their new home. Louis' family -- wife Rachel (Denise Crosby), daughter Ellie (Blaze Berdahl), and toddler Gage (Miko Hughes) -- soon meet kindly old duffer Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne), who introduces them all to the local attractions, including a pet cemetary built on the remains of a Native American burial ground. When Rachel and the kids head off to visit Louis' in-laws, Ellie's cat gets flattened by a truck. Jud counsels Louis to bury it in the old Indian portion of the cemetary; the next day, it returns from the dead, carrying with it the stink of the earth and a decidedly bad attitude. Shortly thereafter, Louis is tempted to use the cemetary's magical powers again when his son suffers a tragic accident. A snarling kitty, it turns out, is nothing compared to the horror of a little boy with no soul and a taste for scalpels. In addition to adapting his own novel for the screen, writer King appeared in a brief cameo as the minister presiding over Gage's funeral. Director Mary Lambert would return with Pet Sematary Two.

Paramount Pictures

Region 1 - NTSC

1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.31 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Paramount Pictures (Collector's Edition)

Paramount Pictures (blu)

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3923 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3923 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio French 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB

Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1

Edition Details:
• Audio Commentary by director Mary Lambert
• Stephen King's PET SEMATARY featurettes:
• - Stephen King Territory (4:3; 13:08)
• - The Characters (4:3; 12:50)
• - Filming the Horror (4:3; 10:25)
• Trailers for the STAR TREK universe (all series and films) and THE 4400 (Season 2)

DVD Release Date:
Amaray

Chapters 19

Edition Details:
• Audio Commentary by director Mary Lambert
• Stephen King's PET SEMATARY featurettes:
• - Stephen King Territory (4:3; 13:09)
• - The Characters (4:3; 12:51)
• - Filming the Horror (4:3; 10:26)

Blu-ray Release Date: October 2nd, 2012
Standard Blu-ray Case inside 3D slipcase

Horror aficionados will appreciate the DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3923 kbps which has some sharp separations and fills the soundstage with an eerie aura. Kudos to Elliot Goldenthal's score which benefits from the lossless transfer. There are optional subtitles on the region FREE Blu-ray disc.

Extras mimic the DVD with the audio commentary by director Mary Lambert and over 1/2 hour of Stephen King's related featurettes. There is no trailer for Star Trek and The 4400 as found on the 2006 SE DVD.

King fans will be quite pleased with this Blu-ray release that advances quite handily over its SD counterpart. The entire horror genre can be 'made' or 'broken' with the atmosphere and this 1080P audio and lossless video export shuddering chills in the HD presentation. Recommended!

 -Gary Tooze