Save the Cat rankings

PET SEMATARY script analysis

PET SEMATARY script - Save the Cat beat sheet analysis

Louis Creed moves his family to a rural town, learns of a sinister burial ground, and faces the horror of resurrected loved ones. After his son’s death, he defies warnings, leading to tragic consequences. Ultimately, Louis confronts the abomination he’s created to stop the cycle of evil.

78 Save the Cat fit score 72% analysis confidence / 40 parsed scenes

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1

Opening Image

Scene 1 / Page 1 / 1% target

80%

Introduces the eerie Pet Sematary setting as the story’s ominous landscape.

2

Theme Stated

Scene 14 / 5% target

75%

Pascow’s warning that man’s heart is stonier foreshadows the emotional cost of tampering with death.

It's not the real cemetery... The soil of a man's heart is stonier, Louis...a man grows what he...
3

Set-Up

Scenes 2-5 / 10% target

78%

The Creed family arrives, settles in, and Jud introduces them to the Pet Sematary, establishing characters and stakes.

It's a place where the dead speak, Missy.
4

Catalyst

Scene 14 / 12% target

70%

Louis fails to save Victor Pascow and hears the burial ground warning, igniting his obsession with beating death.

W-What did you say...?
5

Debate

Scenes 15-16 / 20% target

75%

Louis and Jud debate the power and danger of the Micmac burying ground after resurrecting Church.

What did we do, Jud?
6

Break into Two

Scene 15 / 25% target

68%

Louis crosses into Act Two by agreeing to use the burial ground to bring Church back.

7

B Story

Scene 12 / 30% target

65%

Louis and Rachel share a tender moment, underscoring family bonds that ground the horror subplot.

Thank God. I was a little worried there. Have a great first day at school, doc. No broken...
8

Fun and Games

Scene 16 / 40% target

70%

Church’s unsettling return provides eerie ‘fun and games’ of supernatural disruption.

9

Midpoint

Scene 22 / 50% target

80%

Gage’s sudden death by truck is the story’s point of no return, raising the stakes dramatically.

10

Bad Guys Close In

Scene 25 / 65% target

74%

Jud’s ominous reminder that “sometimes dead is better” tightens the tension as Louis contemplates deeper misuse.

Why...that sometimes dead is better. That's all. Sometimes dead is better.
11

All Is Lost

Scene 28 / 75% target

77%

Louis’s despair at Gage’s grave represents his lowest emotional point before taking drastic action.

I'll tell you where the ground is sour--the ground in my heart is sour.
12

Dark Night of the Soul

Scene 29 / 80% target

70%

Rachel’s realization something is wrong reflects Louis’s inner guilt and fear.

13

Break into Three

Scene 30 / 85% target

75%

Louis decides to cross the swamp to the Micmac burying ground, committing to fix his mistake.

It doesn't matter. Come on, Gage.
14

Finale

Scenes 31-37 / 95% target

78%

Louis confronts supernatural horrors in the swamp, the Wendigo’s presence, and the resurrected Gage, culminating in deadly confrontations.

It was the Wendigo. Dear God, I think the Wendigo just passed within sixty feet of me.
15

Final Image

Scene 40 / 99% target

72%

Returning to the kitchen card game, the final image mirrors the opening’s domestic normalcy now tainted by tragedy.

And what you own always comes home to you.