Friedhof der Kuscheltiere (1989)

Friedhof der Kuscheltiere: Directed by Mary Lambert. With Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby, Brad Greenquist. After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.

“Itu0026#39;s older, and maybe stylistically a bit dated, but itu0026#39;s the better version of the two, imo.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirst, it doesnu0026#39;t mess with the story, which is great because you donu0026#39;t need to mess with the story. The book is good. Aside from the obvious (no spoilers) character switch, it was structurally better. Like the book, itu0026#39;s not a scary-right-off-the-bat horror story, like a slasher movie would be, kill scene at the top. Rather, itu0026#39;s structured more like a campfire story. It starts pretty normal and then, piece-by-piece, the horror builds. This is not very common for horror these days, but I donu0026#39;t think it is non-existant. More experimental films have been using it – Midsomer or Hereditary, for example, or Aronofsky movies. Wish either of those filmmakers would have tackled the remake, gone Kubrick and pushed King u0026quot;artfullyu0026quot; as opposed to u0026quot;pop,u0026quot; but I digress. King said this was the first the he really wrote which disturbed him due to the major 180-degree plot point mid-way, and this movie has a strong sense of that devastation. The best horror is often about family.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSecond, the cast is better in this version, probably more due to the directing than the actual actors. Mary Lambert let the actors tell the story, Kevin Kolsch, like they do these days, told the story with camera work, editing, and modern horror tropes – the unnecessary masks and the juxtaposition of u0026quot;cute innocenceu0026quot; (ballet dancing) with u0026quot;evil,u0026quot; for example. Jason Clarke and John Lithgow didnu0026#39;t get to flex. Dale Midkiff was a BABE and we had enough time with him to see the progression of his character. Fred Gwynne is unbeatable. And Denise Crosby, who bravely chose an often unflattering portrayal of Rachel, is hard to forget. The Zelda stuff, although less developed than the new, overdeveloped stuff in the new film, is just scarier. Her hardness early on really works against her crumbling development later – itu0026#39;s a hard choice for an actressu0026#39; popularity but better storytelling. (Denise Crosby is an interesting actress – I think only one season in Next Generation? And still unforgettable. She makes an impact in whatever sheu0026#39;s in, but again I digress.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs an English teacher, Iu0026#39;d say read the book! Then watch the movies and choose your favorite version, and let us know what you think! Happy watching!”