Pet Sematary (1989): Was Jud the REAL Villain?! 😱

Okay, so I just rewatched Pet Sematary (the OG, duh) and I'm low-key convinced that Jud Crandall is way more responsible for everything going down than we give him credit for. Like, yeah, Louis makes TERRIBLE choices, but Jud is basically enabling the whole thing from the jump. Think about it: he knows what that cemetery does, he's seen it firsthand, and he still tells Louis about it?! Why??? Is he just bored? Does he secretly hate the Creeds? It’s sus, fam. And it's not like he just mentions it in passing, right? He's the one who takes Louis there after Church dies. He practically eggs him on to bury the cat there. Like, what did he expect was gonna happen? A dead cat is one thing, but then Gage... It’s all Jud's fault in my book. I mean, he's this 'friendly' old neighbor, but honestly, he gives me some major creepy vibes. Maybe he's been lonely all those years and figured stirring up a little undead drama was the spice his life needed. My theory is that Jud is intentionally messing with Louis because he's still mourning the loss of his wife. Maybe he feels guilty about something in his OWN past connected to the Sematary. Like maybe he'd enterrd HIS pet there a bunch of years ago and it turned a little....mean. He's projecting or trying to like, relive something or something I don't know! It's a stretch, I know, but it makes more sense than just blaming Louis for everything. I mean, Louis is dumb, but Jud is straight-up manipulative AF. What do you guys think? Am I reaching or is there something to this? Okay, okay maybe Jud is the villain is a little extreme. What about him being just a really unreliable narrator? Like is he even telling Louis the truth about the Sematary? Is he downplaying the horror so Louis would believe it's worth the risk? Maybe his version of events are tainted with his own personal feelings or beliefs to justify it. Like maybe it wasn't quite so bad back when he burried HIS dog. So maybe it's not malice but just he's so dang old he's remembering it wrong. Either way...Judd is to blame.