MovieChat Forums > Pet Sematary (1989) Discussion > Were Jud and Pascow supposed to be good?...

Were Jud and Pascow supposed to be good? They only made things worse!!!

posted 10 years ago by al666940-3
13 replies | jump to latest

SPOILERS

I just saw the movie, and realized that minus saving Gage on the very first day he almost walks into that truck (Louis and Rachel are textbook negligent parents, otherwise Gave would not have been killed the second time), WTF did they ever say or do that helped, at all?!!!

Jud:
- He, without any reason that seems plausible, introduces Louis to the burial ground with a vague enough backstory that would plant curiosity in anyone's mind. Why if he knows the place is bad?!!!!
- He, literally takes Louis again to the burial ground and has him resurrect the cat!!! Then he's horrified when Louis is considering using it on his dead son. WTF did he expect, unless he intended Louis to use the damn place?!!!

Pascow:
- He takes Louis to the sematary and tells him of the burial ground, only to tell him never to go there. Dude, WTF do you tell him about it at all for if you don't want him to go there?!!!!!
- He makes everything he can to ensure Rachel gets home soon enough so she'll come when Louis is still asleep and thus can be attacked by Gage. WTF was the plan there, getting her back that fast, if not to set her up?!!
- He's always smiling about things, as if he can't keep a straight face about the big joke he's playing on Louis and his family.

See where I'm going? NOTHING they did helped, and indeed made things worse.

If you ask me, they were either possessed by the wendigo, or whatever made them make sure Louis would be ruined.

[–] Lawdog1527 10 years ago

The film was changed from the book to cut down on characters and this has caused some confusion.

In the book Jud has a wife. She has a heart attack not too soon after the Creeds' move in and Louis saves her life. So, when Ellie's cat is run over, he decides to tell Louis about it as a pay back. Besides, he figures it's just a cat, so even if something went wrong, they could get rid of it. He had no idea of the Pandora's box he was opening up. (And Gage would kill her too)

Louis had attempted to save Pascow and was with him in the moments before his death. Pascow gave a lot more premonitions in the book, first trying to get them to stay away from the woods entirely, then the burial ground after Jud showed it to Louis.

Nothing really would have mattered, Louis was obsessed with his grief, the major theme of the novel, and would have somehow destroyed himself no matter what.

[–] al666940-3 10 years ago

"The film was changed from the book to cut down on characters and this has caused some confusion"

But didn't the screenplay come down from King himself? Who is he gonna blame this time for his book not translating to the silver screen properly?

"In the book Jud has a wife."

OK, that makes more sense. But not really since Jud knows about that boy Timmy who got resurrected into an abomination. I mean you really can't ask for more cautionary tale than that.

"Pascow gave a lot more premonitions in the book, first trying to get them to stay away from the woods entirely"

Did he also make sure to point out the exact section of the woods he didn't want them to venture into? I mean come on, sounds like teaching Karate so you never use it...

"Louis was obsessed with his grief, the major theme of the novel, and would have somehow destroyed himself no matter what."

But I doubt his wife would have fared as bad as she did...

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[–] cgann-2 10 years ago

In the book, it is made clear that the Wendigo was influencing Judd in his decision to show Louis the Micmac burial ground.

[–] RobsBottin 10 years ago

Mary Lambert describes Judd's character as a bad angel. In the film he decides that Ellie isn't ready to learn about death yet hence the introduction to the Mic Mac burial ground.

[–] Jordan_Haelend 10 years ago

It's like a Greek tragedy, as I've mentioned elsewhere. Creed goes right ahead with his decision to revive Rachel, in spite of the fact that nothing good can come of it-- he's lost so much that he has nothing left to lose. Pascow attempts one last, desperate bid to reason with him, but Louis' mind is so far gone that he isn't amenable to reason. And so Pascow fails in his mission ultimately. He couldn't save Creed, and probably never could.

[–] r_jayy_dylan 9 years ago

The ground/Wendigo was influencing and controlling things. Pascow states it's trying to stop you as he could only do so much as the power of the Wendigo was way more powerful than Pascows which is why Jud brings up the Pet Sematary/burial ground and some state it set off a chain of events.

The truck driver was under the influence to drive faster.
Judd falling asleep was also due to the power of the Wendigo.

Pascow and Jud were not bad characters at all. The film does not shed backstory on the Wendigo and its power. There's a brief scene where the loon sound in the forest where Jud replies "just a loon" and when Louis goes there again. It's the wendigo from the novel but the film never explicitly states it or follows up on it.

[–] evolution_500_2 9 years ago

"It's like a Greek tragedy, as I've mentioned elsewhere"

Funny you mentioned that, 'cause I was kind of reminded of Oedipus Rex in parts.

[–] For-the-Overwind 9 years ago

One of the episodes of South Park parodied Jud's role in the movie perfectly...

Old Man: Mr. Stotch, I know what you're thinkin'.
Mr. Stotch: Who are you?
Old Man: I came to talk you out of it. You need to just accept that your son is dead... and not try to bring him back.
Mr. Stotch: Bring him back? Wha-what are you talking about?
Old Man: I know you're thinkin' of puttin' him up there, in the Indian burial ground up that road. You're thinkin' if you bury his body there it'll come back to life. But sometimes dead is better.
Mr. Stotch: Indian burial ground...?
Old Man: It's been done before, what you're thinkin' of. The Nelson boy, back in '85...
Mr. Stotch: You're saying if I dig up my son's body and rebury him at the old Indian burial ground--
Old Man: Don't do it, Stotch! What comes out of the ground... ain't the thing you put in. The Indians knew that, that's why they stopped usin' it when the ground went sour. I'm just here to talk you out of it. Don't bury your son's body at the Indian burial ground, Stotch! The one that's right up over there, behind Anderson's barn.

[–] Isau 9 years ago

This is justified in the book. The burial ground has addictive properties that are just under the surface. That is why Judd brings Louis there. People who encounter the burial ground find themselves talking about it though they know they shouldnt, and compelled to draw other people into it. They know it's bad, but find themselves doing it anyway.

[–] evolution_500_2 9 years ago

Not so much the burial ground had addictive qualities as it was the case that the Wendigo had certain psychic abilities, orchestrating events behind the scenes, influencing people's decision-making and so on, all for the purpose of feeding its hunger, be it more prey to enter its lair, or to feed off their grief and sanity.

[–] RobsBottin 9 years ago

Mary Lambert described Judd's character as a 'bad angel'. Of course he made things worse, his own morbid curiosity with the old Indian burial ground got the better of him.

It's all a deep end.