Customer Reviews

Cujo

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I have waited a looooooong time to see this film get the special treatment it deserved. For years, the only way I had to view this classic horror treat was on an old DVD release with cropped edges, horrible picture, and NO special features at all.....not to mention the ugliest DVD artwork ever for a Stephen King release.

Lionsgate has now given us Cujo as it has never been seen on home video. I was blown away by how clear the picture is, and how vibrant the colors are. The old transfer just seemed washed out and faded. I watched this on my PS3, which upscales it to hi-def, and I never dreamed this film could ever look this good. I'm also glad that there was no effort to try to create a surround sound track for this film, since most of it takes place inside a car. You have the choice of watching it in the original mono, or a 2 channel stereo mix. While this is not a film I would choose to show off my surround system, it is very effective for what is happening on screen. Not only do we get treated to a remastered copy of the film, but Cujo also has some really good special features. The 3-part documentary runs about 45 min. total, and is very informative about the way the film was made. Both Dee Wallace and Danny Pintauro take part in the documentary. The director, Lewis Teague, also provides a good commentary track. I only have two minor complaints: 1st, there is no trailer for Cujo and 2nd, with it being the 25th anniversary edition, I would rather have seen the artwork from the original movie poster as the cover. I'm not complaining too much about the artwork since it is a huge improvement over the previous version, I just think the poster with the white picket fence and the word "Cujo" in blood was a great poster.

Bottom line: If you own the original DVD version of Cujo, put it in the doghouse. You will be glad you upgraded to this fantastic version of what I think is one of the best adaptations of Stephen King's work on film.

Actually a fairly good Stephen King translation, I remember being genuinely frightened a few times when this played theatrically. But my fondest memory of the movie was its poster: a beautiful sun-bleached drawing of a very east-coast summer house, surrounded by a picket fence splattered with blood in the form of Cujo's name. Warner home video used this artwork when intially releasing the video over a decade ago, and now? This picture of a clownish lip-sticked overly-reddened St. Bernard and his teeth is clearly not even a shot from the movie! I have always questioned/doubted the wisdom of revisionist cover-art for video releases, but this one takes the cake as the most artless piece of junk I've ever seen.

If I had read the book first I would have probably known what I was in for when I sat down to watch this movie. I have a deeply rooted fear of confined spaces and possibly an even bigger fear of being eaten. So basically, this movie scared me to no end! Now I have to admit much of the story (and acting) moved along fairly slowly, until the mother and son were stuck in the middle of nowhere, in a station wagon, with a large, rabid Saint Bernard attempting to get inside! It was this portion of the movie that got my skin crawling! When Cujo starts attacking the car and you just get this feeling that nobody is getting out of there alive, that's good Horror entertainment! Strangely enough I never felt that Cujo should die or that he was a "monster". I just kept thinking that all of us are victims of circumstance, and not one of us has control over the events in our lives. That concept alone is terrifying! The acting of the mother and son were perfect and I'd really like to know how they got the dog who played Cujo to act so mean! To me, a claustraphobe, this was one nightmare of a movie. If I had been younger I would have probably developed a serious fear of dogs to boot. But dogs are great, as long as you make sure they've had their shots! You don't want your dog going Cujo on you, now do you! One of the scariest movies I've ever seen!

To all you folks that are complaining about a Saint Bernard being the wrong choice for this role, and that it was "too cute" to be scary, um that was the point. Sheesh. How could so many people miss that? It's the fact that a big, loveable dog has suddenly become a threat that makes this film so spooky. Man's best friend has suddenly become a monster. Had they used a Doberman or Rottweiller, everyone would have been like "Well, yeah, they're killers. No suprise it turned on them." Most good horror works on the premise of the benign becoming the terrifying. This movie is the epitome of that. Also, a Doberman or Rottweiller wouldn't have been that threatening. Doberman's especially are small enough to send rolling with a well-placed kick. They needed a large dog that would be able to dent a car door with it's massive skull, and take three hits with a baseball bat. Get a clue folks.

Let me begin by simply saying this: If you've read the book and you enjoyed it, you may not like this adaptation. It moves too quickly. The affair between Donna and Vic is not explained well enough. The dog scenes were pretty good and gory, but otherwise it's a pretty average film. The book is far better. As for the ending of the film, I don't like it. However, there have been worse adaptations of Stepnen King novels (remember "The Running Man?")

Featuring a rabid St. Benard who turns into a vicious killing machine who traps a wife and child in a broken down car in the middle of nowhere, Cujo takes suspense to a whole new level.

Sure, the first half of the film is pretty paint by numbers stuff that features no horror and gore whasoever, but that was so you can get acquainted with the characters.... Cujo is technically an innocent victim of an evil disease, you can see that King didn't want this to be the typical "evil dog vs. caring owners" storyline... but basically ir comes down to a dog named Cujo getting bitten by a rabid bat. He then goes on a killing spree. Tad Trenton and his mom go to a farm to get their car fixed. Too bad when they get there, the people who were supposed to fix the car get killed by the dog. Then, the car breaks down, and all hell breaks loose.

The problems with the movie are few, but deadlier than the vicious streak of Cujo. The movie is too boring early on, and the ending ... a big one. Plus, the DVD features no extras whatsoever, just improved sound quality and scene selection. The visuals are the same as they were in the 80's, so dont expect anything too great.

This is not a revolutionary film by any means, but Cujo delivers what King wanted it to: a tale of evil vs. good, but with shades of gray. And Cujo just looks too cool to be ignored for long. I reccommend seeing this movie without a doubt. It is one of my favorite horror movies of all time.

'Cujo' is a pretty good intense film! King's story about a family pet that goes bonkers after being bitten by a bat is great when the dog is on screen, but when the thread bare story drifts into TV movie melodrama, it looses steam and credibility.

I am still a fan of the film because the second half of the film is so strong and the pacing of the animal slowly deteriorating into an uncontrollable killer seems very real, although I could have done without the last attack by the dog in Camber's house. It turned an otherwise believable story into the typical Hollywood ending, always trying to get one more good jolt out of a scene.

The new 25th ann. edition DVD sports an excellent transfer and an interesting documentary and commentary. I rate the film 3 1/2 stars, but the new release pushes my rating to 4 stars!

When you think of successful early "adapted from a Stephen King novel" films, a few come to mind. From the greatest:Carrie, The Shining, Pet Sematary to the not-so-bad:Salem's Lot, Children of the Corn, Christine. But nessled right in the middle should be Cujo. For my generation, after this film was released anytime you saw a large strange dog in the near distance, your mind raced with the thoughts of this film.

While still pretty effective, this film about a mother and son trapped inside their broken down Ford Pinto while a rabies-infected Saint Bernard terrorizes them from the outside in, still has plenty of scares even 25 years later. While not as classic as other Horror films of it's time, it did forever become the grandaddy of all maniac dog movies. So on that level alone, it comes from me to any Horror fan very suggested.

However, it does have a few faults. Even though it was shot and released in 1983, this movie looks and feels like it was actually done in say 1976, down to it's starring car and ABC-Movie Of The Week musical score. Another is the 30 minutes of set-up at it's beginning showing the trials and downfalls of suburban marriage and family life at the time. Not that those 30 minutes hurt the movie, it actually sets up the characters for concern quite nicely, but to new fans of the movie they might wonder what drama film got accidently put in this Horror DVD's case.

But once Cujo gets things a foamin' about 40 minutes in, all Hell breaks loose and let the intense claustrophobia begin. As for extras, there's a nice 50 minute documentary called "Dog Days:The Making Of Cujo" from 2007 that has crew and actors telling about how things were done quite informatively. Seeing a now 30 year old Danny Pintauro talking about his role when he was just six is nice to see a former child actor who can still remember the work much less live to tell about it. Also a directors commentary & an anamorphic picture with a high bit-rate, this is a worthy addition to any classic Horror collection. Despite purists who say that it changed certain aspects for the film not originally in the King novel (all of which were approved by King), this is one film that will make most say "The movie was better than the book".
(RedSabbath Rating:8.0/10)

This film's story is simplicity itself. It's the same as any old monster movie or Night Of The Living Dead. Characters are stuck somewhere and the impending terror wants in, and they have to figure a way out. Totally simple. What this film does that makes it horror royalty and one of the good adaptions of King's work is that it keeps the main theme of irrational fears confronted with real fears from the novel. Yes, we actually get to know the characters and understand them before they're thrust into the horror scenario.

The film focus on a family of three, a father, mother and son. All three are set up to have irrational fears as the film starts. Monther is afraid of becoming old and cheats on her husband, who is a decent man, because she is bored with her new and more rural life. Husband fears not being able to properly provide for his family, and that he'll lose his job. Son fears the things that go bump in the night, living in his closet and under his bed. It's not until mother and son are faced with a rabid dog by the name of Cujo does life fully come into perspective for them. The killer dog is like a personification of all their fears shoving itself in their faces to wake them up into reality. Of course to appreciate this new revelation they will have to survive....

The acting in this film is all top notch. Dee Wallace has always been one of my favorite actors. She is really good at amping up the emotions and even making them big without becoming melodramatic. Despite her adultery, adultery for no good reason(if there could be such a thing), you like her. You understand her. You appreciate her maternal instincts when it comes to protecting her son. That is if you're not narrow minded or judgemental about fictional people that don't really exist or travel in your social circles. I've always smiled when seeing other people judge those around them from a high horse, but I laugh violently when I see them judge fictional characters.

The new special edition DVD is superb in picture quality and sound. Finally, we get a widescreen transfer of this beautifully and horrifyingly shot film. The last crappy editon was, for reasons unknown to me(does anyone in this day in age still actually prefer fullscreen?)a full frame release and was loaded with grain and a horrible audio track. This new edition goes even further beyond upgrading the picture by providing new and interesting special features. The making of Doc runs about an hour long and covers all the bases from everyone's perspective, from the actors, director, cinenatographer, and Stephen king himself. There's also an audio commentary by the director, Lewis Teague(Alligator, Jewel of the Nile, Cat's Eye). He doesn't just stick to going over what's playing on the screen but also goes into anecdotes and the history of the project in Hollyweird. The only problem I have with this track is that Teague does repeat some info that was covered in the documentary, but it's sparse.

Besides Teague's swift direction, some accolades must go to Jan De Bont, the director of photography for this movie. I wish he had stayed a D.P. because he was much more interesting and talented in that field then he is as a director(The Haunting 1999,Tomb Raider:Cradle of Life, Speed 1&2). But we have a bunch of old Verhoeven films and various other movies from the 70's and 80's that brandish his name as their D.P. The camera moves are all natural, stylish and effective in further telling this story without blowhard expouses from the characters.

Teague was and probably is still a wonderful filmmaker. I'm not sure what he's done since the 80's, but I haven't heard from him in a while. I would LOVE, if I had the power, to get this man back in the director's chair of a modern big budget film. He's a lost talent.

The only gripe I have with this addition is the cover artwork. I'm a real movie nerd and I love cool poster artwork. The original poster for Cujo's theatrical run was really cool. It was almost a sepia toned image of the old delapitated house with the picket fence and mailbox in the foreground. The blood red lettered 'Cujo' appeared over this simple and basic image. It was creepy and intriguing. It gave no hints that this was about a killer dog. The new DVD artwork is an improvement over the abomination that was the last DVD, but still isn't that good. It's just an extreme close up of snarling, drool-encrusted dog death with a name tage reading the film's title.

SIDENOTE: A lot of King fans complained about the ending of this film. ###MILD BOOK SPOILER### In the book Tad dies. His death leads the mother to take out her rage for survival against the infected dog. It works in the book, but is kind of a downer. It punishes the mother for her adultery in a very major way. You end up sympathizing with her and even liking her towards the end of the story, so when Tad bites it, it's a real downer. The film changed that by letting Tad live. Many were upset. There's actually folks who don't like this film just because of that. On the documentary for the new DVD Stephen King declares the film's ending better and if he could, he would rewrite the ending to have Tad live. Even the King himself thought it was too much. Interesting. Go figure.

If I had read the book first, I would have known what I was in for when I sat down to watch the movie. I claustrophobic, and scared of being ravaged. To me claustrophobia is a nightmare, and it is a great part of this movie. If I had been a kid, I would have not wanted a dog after this. A good, Scary film.