After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
Eager to start afresh, the young doctor, Louis Creed, and his family--his wife, Rachel, their daughter, Ellie, and their two-year-old toddler, Gage--move to their new home in the small rural town of Ludlow, Maine, alarmingly close to a busy highway. However, after the inadvertent death of Rachel's cherished tomcat in an awful accident, reluctantly, a desperate Louis will take his friendly neighbor's advice to bury it in an ancient Micmac graveyard: a mystical burial ground imbued with alleged reanimating powers. Now, despite the terrible results and the insistent warnings from a recently deceased, tragedy-stricken Louis has no other choice but to go back to the Indian cemetery, in high hopes that, this time, things will be different. Nevertheless, can the dead truly return from the grave?—Nick Riganas
As a doctor, Louis Creed must face death all the time, but his wife and two young children might not have to. When the family pet is killed in the road, Louis' well meaning neighbor introduces him to a mystic place beyond the old pet cemetery in the woods behind his house: the place where the dead walk.—mrosesteed
Dr. Louis Creed's (Midkiff) family moves into the country house of their dreams and discover a pet cemetery at the back of their property. The cursed burial ground deep in the woods brings the dead back to life - with "minor" problems. At first, only the family's cat makes the return trip, but an accident forces a heartbroken father to contemplate the unthinkable.
The Creeds have just moved to a new house in the countryside. Their house is perfect, except for two things: the semi-trailers that roar past on the narrow road, and the mysterious cemetery in the woods behind the house. The Creed's neighbours are reluctant to talk about the cemetery, and for good reason too.—Murray Chapman <[email protected]>
The Creed family moves from Chicago to the small town of Ludlow, Maine. They end up befriending their elderly neighbor, Jud Crandell, who takes them to the isolated pet cemetery (misspelled "Sematary") behind the Creeds' new home.
Later, Louis Creed is working at the University of Maine when a young student named Victor Pascow is brought in with severe injuries from a car accident. The young man dies, but not before warning Louis (by name) of the pet cemetery. That night, in what is seemingly a dream, Victor visits Louis, warning him about the burial ground beyond the pet cemetery. Louis wakes up to find his feet covered in dirt.
Church, a cat owned by Louis' daughter Ellie, is killed by a truck on the road in front of their house while Rachel, Ellie and Gage are in Chicago. Jud takes Louis to an ancient Micmac Indian burial ground, the "real cemetery", to bury the cat. Louis asks if a person was ever buried in the grounds. Jud replies, "Christ on His throne, no! And whoever would?" Church comes back that night, but an evil shell of himself, attacking Louis and smelling of death. Church drops a dead, mutilated rat into Louis' bath water, startling him further.
The following Spring, Louis' toddler son Gage is killed by a truck on the same road. The family is overwhelmed with grief, especially Rachel, who seems unable to get past the initial shock. At Gage's wake, Rachel's father, Irwin, whom already dislikes Louis immensely, blames and berates Louis for the boy's death. Louis punches him and in the ensuing scuffle, Gage's coffin is knocked off it's stand.
Louis considers burying Gage in the Micmac ground. Jud tries to dissuade him from doing so, telling him about a young man from town, Timmy Baterman, who died in service during World War II. Timmy's grief-stricken father, Bill, placed his son's corpse into the Micmac burial ground, only to have it reanimate and terrify the townsfolk. Jud and three of his friends tried burning down the house with the son in it, but Bill was attacked by Timmy and they both perished in the fire.
As a way of alleviating the family's depression, Rachel plans to visit her parents in Chicago. Rachel begs Louis to go with her and Ellie, but he declines. Louis heads to the cemetery Gage is buried in, intending to exhume his son's body. He is met at the graveyard by Pascow, who warns him not to proceed.
On the flight, Ellie has a nightmare, stating that "Paxcow" warned her that Louis is going to do something really bad, and that he is trying to help because Louis tried to save his life when Pascow's soul discorporated from his body. Rachel realizes who her daughter is talking about and calls Jud after Louis does not answer the phone. She asks if he has seen Louis, and then tells him she is returning. Jud warns her not to, but she has already hung up.
Louis takes his son's corpse to the Micmac burial ground. Pascow's spirit unsuccessfully tries to stop Louis. Louis returns home, exhausted from his activities. Gage later arrives and enters his father's room, removing a scalpel from one of his bags. Gage enters Jud's house and kills Jud while Church watches.
Rachel arrives home, hearing something that sounds like her late sister, Zelda, calling her name, then Gage's laughter. Rachel enters Jud's house and finds Gage in an upstairs bedroom. Gage tells her he brought her something and shows her Louis' scalpel. Rachel hugs her son in disbelief and is murdered.
Louis wakes up to find Gage's muddy footprints on the floor, his doctor's bag open and his scalpel gone. He receives a call from Gage saying, "Come play with me daddy! First I played with Jud, and then I played with mommy. We had an awful good time. Now I want to play wiff yewww."
Preparing shots of morphine, Louis heads to Jud's house, running into Church once more. He distracts the cat with a raw steak, then kills him with a shot of morphine. He heads into the house, once more taunted by Gage. Louis searches the house only to have Rachel's corpse fall from the attic, hanged by her neck. Gage attacks his father, but Louis injects the boy with a morphine shot, killing him. Louis soaks the house in kerosene and sets it on fire, carrying his wife's body out. Pascow watches, and tells Louis he is sorry, and not to bury Rachel in the same place. Louis replies that he waited too long with Gage, and that it will work with his wife because she just died. Louis walks through Pascow, who vanishes screaming.
At home, Louis plays solitaire while he waits. At midnight, Rachel comes through the kitchen door. She coos "Darling..." and the two embrace kissing as it is revealed that her face is ravaged and oozing cranial fluid. Rachel reaches for a steak knife on the kitchen table. The screen blacks out as Rachel stabs him while Louis screams.
