Cujo

Alternate titles : None

Tagline : "Now there's a new name for terror..."

Filmed at a time when Stephen King adaptations were doing big business at the box office, Cujo tells the tale of a loveable St Bernard dog that turns nasty after a rabid bat bites it on the hooter (I'll avoid making any jokes about "my dog has no nose").

After turning on its owner and despatching him in a suitably gory fashion, who should turn up at the chaps farmhouse, but a young mum (played by Dee Wallace Stone) and her son, who want him to take a look at their car, which has been playing up lately. Of course they find themselves being met by the rather unfriendly St Bernard, and end up taking refuge in their car, which (predictably) then refuses to start.

Trapped in their vehicle, they find themselves continually fending off attacks by the bloodthirsty dog who keeps trying to smash its way inside, whilst we continually have to listen to the woman's shrieking and her young son bawling his head off all the while.

Directed by Lewis Teague, who also directed the killer croc film "Alligator", this is definitely NOT one of the better Stephen King adaptations. The film over all seemed quite slow, plus there is only so much interest watching 2 people stuck in a car can hold, and I must say I found the constant screaming and bawling done by the the young lad to be extremely annoying.

I can only really recommend this one to die hard Stephen King fans, otherwise you're best skipping this. Also, where's "Beethoven" when you need him (or Lassie, for that matter)?

Overall Marks : 3/10.

Terrifying Trivia

• There were 5 different St Bernards used during filming. For other scenes they used a guy in a costume, as well a mechanical head. For a couple of shots they also used a Rottweiler as they couldn't get the St Bernards to look mean enough
• The films budget was $5,000,000.
• Peter Medak, director of The Changeling, had originally been assigned to direct. But he quit shortly before filming began. Director Lewis Teague subsequently agreed to step in at short notice.
• Cujo is an ancient Indian word meaning "unstoppable force".
• Stephen King actually helped write the screenplay, but declined being credited for his work.
• The "foam" coming from the dog's mouth was made up of egg whites and sugar, which proved to be a problem as the dogs kept licking the sweet tasting foam off.
• The role of Steve Kemp, the person who Dee Wallace's character is having an affair with in the films sub-plot, was played by the actresses real life husband Christopher Stone.
• Lewis Teague also directed the Stephen King adaptation "Cats Eye".
• The original novel was set in the same town as the book "The Dead Zone" and the stories actually share characters. Some of these also appear in both film adaptations, most notably, Sheriff Bannerman, though played by different actors.
• In the book, the young child actually died at the end of the story. But this was changed for the film to give it a more upbeat ending. There was also a sub-plot involving the ghost of Frank Dodd, the killer from Stephen King's previous novel, but this and all references to that story were removed for continuity reasons.

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