Cujo (1983)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Lewis Teague

Writers:

Stephen King (novel)
Don Carlos Dunaway (writer) ...

Release Date:

12 August 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Now there's a new name for terror...

Plot:

A friendly St. Bernard named "Cujo" contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.

Plot Keywords:

Rabies | Murder | Fog | Dog | Stephen King

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Dee Wallace	...	Donna Trenton
Danny Pintauro	...	Tad Trenton
Daniel Hugh Kelly	...	Vic Trenton (as Daniel Hugh-Kelly)
Christopher Stone	...	Steve Kemp
Ed Lauter	...	Joe Camber
Kaiulani Lee	...	Charity Camber
Billy Jayne	...	Brett Camber (as Billy Jacoby)
Mills Watson	...	Gary Pervier
Sandy Ward	...	Bannerman
Jerry Hardin	...	Masen
Merritt Olsen	...	Professor
Arthur Rosenberg	...	Roger Breakstone
Terry Donovan-Smith	...	Harry
Robert Elross	...	Meara
Robert Behling	...	Fournier

Runtime:

91 min | Canada:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Finland:K-15 (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1994) (VHS version) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (2000) (DVD version) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1983) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Poland:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Glen Ellen, California, USA

Company:

Sunn Classic Pictures

Trivia:

Five St. Bernards were used, one mechanical head, and a guy in a dog costume.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Vic picks Tad up at his camp, we see Tad dip his finger in paint and begin finger painting. He then sees his dad and runs to him and gives him a hug and there is no paint on either of his hands or his dad's suit.

Quotes:

Vic Trenton: There are no real monsters.
Tad Trenton: Except for the one in my closet.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Nanny: A Pup in Paris (#3.27)" (1996)

A film that tells you that your demons will come back to haunt you.

We all know Cujo is a giant St. Bernard that has to kill because he is rabid. The film works as a horror film because of that concept, but this film and the story writer behind it believe that paybacks are a bitch. Retribution is always around the corner and when it is your time, you don't know if it is going to from a guy in a hockey mask, a massive great white shark,a 58 red and white Plymouth Fury, some idiot with long finger knives or a lovable Saint Bernard. Whatever it is though, sin always accounted for. Cujo subscribes to that theory.

Everyone that dies in this film, with the exception of maybe one, does so because they are not very likable people to begin with. They are all tainted and when Cujo gets a hold of them, we are almost glad that he wants their blood. But it is the climax of the film that is the most intriguing. Because here we have a woman who has gotten rid of her sin. But she now has to face the music not for what she is doing, but for what she has done. And if you read the book, you will see that it sticks to that theory and message much more than the film does. It is understood that Cujo has to have a happy Hollywood ending, and that is fine, but the book tells a much more clear yet paradoxically convoluted tale of a boy, his dog, and how sin is never really forgiven.

What is also great about Cujo is how it shows the dog coming unravelled. We see the transformation from lovable suck of a family dog, to vicious killing machine that has an insatiable need for blood. We see his nose get more wet, we see how certain noises bother him more and we see how much saliva this dog has stored up in his nasty mouth.

Cujo is a good movie. It is scary, especially the last half hour and it actually has a point. It also does a fairly good job of bringing King's vision to life. It is not easy to do that, after all King has a very vivid imagination. But Cujo comes close. Very close