From Pet Sematary director Mary Lambert, Pet Sematary Two is an underrated and worthy horror film in its own right. Let’s dig up the 1992 sequel with these ten killer facts about the movie!
1It reuses a prop from the It mini-series

Pet Sematary Two opens up with a film shoot taking place on a Hollywood set. Actress Renee Hallow (Darlanne Fluegel) is filming a scene where she’s attempting to open a coffin, when a skeleton’s arm bursts out of the ground to grab her. This is actually the very same prop used in Tommy Lee Wallace’s It mini-series, from the scene where a skeleton reaches out of a pond to grab Ben.
2Stephen King had his name removed from the credits

Because the original movie was based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the prolific author was very hands-on with its development. He even wrote the screenplay himself, personally choosing Mary Lambert as the film’s director based on her appreciation for the source material. However, King had nothing to do with Pet Sematary Two, and lobbied for Paramount to remove his name from the sequel’s credits and promotional advertising.
3The characters pass by the Creed family house

Pet Sematary Two does contain many references to the original film, with some more noticeable than others. At one point in the movie, Jeff (Edward Furlong) is chasing a group of bullies to get his kitten back, and everyone rides right past a home with the name Creed on the mailbox. Clearly, this is meant to be the same house the Creeds from the original film lived in prior to the massacre. Of course, because the 1989 film was shot in Maine and Two was shot in Georgia, it’s not the same house in real life – just in storyline.
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4Anthony Edwards met his wife on the set of the film

Pet Sematary Two is a bleak, feel-bad movie – much like the original film. However, there was some good to come out of the sequel behind the scenes. On the set, Anthony Edwards, who plays lead character Chase Matthews, met makeup artist Jeanine Lobell, and a romance blossomed. The pair began dating, marrying two years after the release of the film. Sadly, Edwards and Lobell didn’t live happily ever after, as the couple divorced in 2015.
5Jason McGuire got someone in trouble on the set

Jason McGuire, who plays young Drew in the film, recalled a story in an interview about getting a production assistant in hot water over continuity issues. “I do remember a glove was left on a boulder while filming the Indian burial ground shots, and I pointed it out after a few shots, and said, ‘Is that glove gonna be in the frame?’ And there was a big deal sort of about that,” McGuire explains. “I remember somebody got their ass chewed out. I felt bad actually, cause I got someone in trouble.”
6Anthony Edwards is watching a real movie

In Pet Sematary Two, Darlanne Fluegel plays Jeff’s mother and Chase’s wife, famous actress Renee Hallow, who’s electrocuted on set in the beginning of the movie. A later scene shows Chase (Anthony Edwards) grieving Renee’s death by watching one of her films. What he’s watching isn’t from a fictional movie made specifically for the film. It’s actually from a real-life movie called Once Upon a Time in America. In that film, Fluegel plays Eve, and it’s this character that’s shown in the clip Chase is watching.
7The Ramones are featured in the closing credits (again)

The Ramones played a big part in the original Pet Sematary movie, specifically writing the song “Pet Sematary” to be featured in the closing credits of the film. Their music is used once again for the sequel, as their song “Poison Heart” is used when the credits scroll. If you’re wondering, the 2019 Pet Sematary meets The Ramones halfway, as an updated cover version of “Pet Sematary” by Starcrawler is used.
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8The animals were handled with extreme care

Animal lovers will undoubtedly find the plot of the film unsettling, given the amount of cute creatures killed. If it makes them feel any better, great lengths were taken to keep the critters protected. For example, the scene where the dog Zowie chases a kitten in the vet’s office was shot in cuts, and the cat was never actually frightened. To film the kitten running, an out-of-frame trainer called for it, using food as a reward. The dog running after it was filmed separately in a similar manner, with a trainer beckoning for the animal to come. You can read more about the film’s animal treatment at HumaneHollywood.org.
Still, for all of that, it makes us a little anxious during the scene where Clyde holds onto a kitten with one hand while riding his bike.
9Clancy Brown was nominated for Best Supporting Actor

One of the brightest spots of this movie is the performance by Clancy Brown. Even before coming back as a homicidal zombie, Gus Gilbert is a truly terrifying character, thanks to Brown’s excellent portrayal. Fangoria saw it this way as well in 1993, nominating Brown for Best Supporting Actor at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. Ultimately, he lost to Anthony Hopkins for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but there’s no shame in that.
10Mary Lambert originally wanted to bring back Ellie Creed

Mary Lambert’s original plan for Pet Sematary Two was to bring back Ellie from the original film, as the sole survivor of the Creed family. However, Paramount was apparently not confident in the drawing power of a young female lead. “I’ve always wanted to do a real sequel about Ellie, since she’s the one who lives, and she’s the one who should have come back,” Lambert explains in a 2019 interview. “At the time, there was a feeling, which is changing, that a woman, especially a young girl, couldn’t carry a whole movie. There was a lot of resistance.”
With Ellie out, the choice was made to instead make a teenage boy the star of the film, casting Edward Furlong based the success of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Although disappointed, Lambert took an interest in telling a new Pet Sematary story from a teenager’s perspective. “Pet 2 is really about seeing the whole thing from a teenage boy’s point of view,” the director says about the sequel. “As we all know, teenage boys do not have the best judgment in the whole world. That part of their brain is still developing, so that’s the way I approached it once we settled on the basic plot and story.”
Looking back, a sequel with Ellie sounds very interesting, but all we can do is wonder what could have been.
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