Cujo (1983)

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

Director:

Lewis Teague

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Don Carlos Dunaway

Stars:

Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Danny Pintauro

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Donna Trenton is a frustrated suburban housewife whose life is in turmoil after her husband learns about her having an affair. Brett Camber is a young boy whose only companion is a Saint-Bernard named "Cujo", who in turn is bitten by a rabid bat. Whilst Vic, Donna's husband is away on business, and thinking over his marital troubles, Donna and her 5-year-old son Tad take her Pinto to Brett Cambers' dad's car shop... the car fails, and "Cujo" is very, very sick...

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Plot Keywords:

boy | rabies | hiding in a car | killer dog | rabid dog | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 August 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Куджо

Filming Locations:

Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,114,000, 14 August 1983, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$21,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sunn Classic Pictures, TAFT Entertainment Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 86 min (alternate)

Sound Mix:

Mono DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tad has a stuffed St. Bernard in his room, seen clearly in his first bedroom scene.

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Goofs

The blood and mud spots from Cujo jumping on the car change from scene to scene, in some cases disappearing completely.

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Quotes

Tad Trenton: [in the car] Can he get us in here?
Donna Trenton: No.
Tad Trenton: Can he eat his way in here? Can he?
Donna Trenton: No.
Tad Trenton: Wish he was dead.
Donna Trenton: Me too.

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Crazy Credits

The films title appears out of a pool of swirling blood.

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Alternate Versions

Most DVD prints are missing a closeup shot of Donna's face as she climaxes during a sex scene with Steve. The scene was intact in video versions.

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Connections

Referenced in The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)

User Reviews

One of the better Stephen King adaptations

There have been alot of movies adapted from Stephen King novels or stories. Some have been good ("Carrie", "Cat's Eye", "Misery"), some have been just so-so ("The Shining", "Firestarter"), and some have been bad ("Children of the Corn", "Maximum Overdrive"). 1983's "Cujo" ranks up there as one of the good ones. It's about a sweet St. Bernard dog that turns nasty after a bat bites the big canine. After the dog turns completely evil, he terrorizes everybody in sight. This includes a woman and her young son who drive up to the house (where Cujo lives) to have her car fixed (Cujo's master is an auto mechanic). Not one person is in sight, and when Cujo shows up, the once friendly dog traps the two in their car and then viciously tries to break in. To make matters worse, the car stalls and refuses to start. "Cujo" does have a few laughable situations and there's a little stupidity thrown in at times, but overall this is a very effective horror film that did frighten me many times. Dee Wallace Stone" ("E.T.") and Danny Pintauro (TV's "Who's the Boss?") are very good as the mother and son who's little trip to get the car fixed turns into a nightmare. "Cujo" is a little well-made horror flick worth seeing.

*** (out of four)