Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary (John Campopiano/Justin White, 2017, USA)

Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary is about as comprehensive a documentary about the making of the 1989 film Pet Sematary as one could hope for. That said, it faces several problems that many fan-made and funded documentaries encounter. Namely, it doesn't use footage from the film, which makes it sometimes difficult to gather points of reference. Secondly, as with most Stephen King-related documentaries, there is no direct interview footage with Stephen King. This is not a surprise, as King rarely gets involved with any documentaries. Still, it would have been nice to hear his feedback on the film as someone who was involved so directly in its making - from featuring in a cameo to bringing the entire production to Maine.

The film traces the making of Pet Sematary from its inception to its completion. King had more control over the production as the book was quite close to his heart, and so he was able to get the entire production shot in Maine. This makes Pet Sematary unique, as few King adaptations were shot in Maine. Only five King adaptations were shot in Maine - Creepshow 2, Graveyard Shift, The Langoliers, Storm of the Century, and Pet Sematary.

While Unearthed & Untold goes a bit overboard with the trivia, it is charming to hear the locals talk about their experience working on the film set. Particularly interesting are the comments about working with Fred Gwynne, who was apparently very excited to be working on the film and also a delight to be around. Unearthed & Untold is a great film for Pet Sematary and Stephen King completists, but it is unlikely to appeal that much to casual horror fans or even casual Stephen King fans. We can safely file this one under "for completists only."

6/10