Cujo (film)
| Cujo | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Lewis Teague |
| Produced by | Robert Singer Daniel H. Blatt[1] |
| Written by | Stephen King (novel) Lauren Currier |
| Starring | Dee Wallace Danny Pintauro Daniel Hugh-Kelly Christopher Stone Ed Lauter |
| Music by | Charles Bernstein |
| Cinematography | Jan de Bont |
| Editing by | Neil Travis |
| Studio | Taft Entertainment Sunn Classic Pictures |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | August 12, 1983 |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5,000,000 |
| Box office | $21,200,000 |
Cujo is a 1983 American horror/thriller film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Cujo was directed by Lewis Teague from a screenplay by Lauren Currier. The film was #58 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
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[edit] Plot
Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace) is a frustrated housewife whose life is in turmoil after her husband Vic learns about her having an affair. Brett Camber (Billy Jacoby) is a young boy and a son of a mechanic, Joe, (Ed Lauter) whose only companion is a St. Bernard named "Cujo." Cujo is bitten by a bat with rabies and his behavior begins to change. While the dog begins to succumb to the disease, Brett and his mother leave for Connecticut to visit his mother's sister. When Donna and her young son, Ted (Danny Pintauro), drive out to the home where Cujo and the Cambers live, the gentle Cujo has been driven insane by rabies and has killed Joe and the Cambers' neighbor. Making matters worse, their car battery dies at the Cambers' house. Donna and Ted are trapped inside while the massive dog waits outside, attacking repeatedly, all while Vic is out of town on a business trip.
Cujo brutally kills anyone and everyone who comes to the house, including the local Sheriff. Eventually Donna makes an attempt to dash for the house but is attacked by Cujo, the only safety being the car. After a brutal struggle between the desperate mother and the relentless animal, Donna takes advantage of a momentary distraction and beats Cujo with a baseball bat and then stabs him with the handle when the bat breaks. As Donna attempts to revive her son, who has passed out due to the extreme heat, Cujo tears through the kitchen window and launches himself at the two. Donna kills Cujo with the dead Sheriff's revolver, and manages to barely resuscitate Ted. She is joined by her husband outside who has just arrived as the carnage ends.
[edit] Cast
- Dee Wallace as Donna Trenton
- Danny Pintauro as Ted Trenton
- Daniel Hugh-Kelly as Vic Trenton
- Christopher Stone as Steve Kemp
- Ed Lauter as Joe Camber
- Kaiulani Lee as Charity Camber
- Billy Jacoby as Brett Camber
Frank Welker was credited for doing vocal effects for Cujo.
[edit] Reception
Reviews of the film were mixed, and a more recent collation of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes has earned Cujo a "rotten" rating of 59%. Eleanor Mannikka of the New York Times wrote that:
Cujo is not as menacing or frightening as other film adaptations of King's popular stories and especially can not compare to the 1976 Carrie...His condition deteriorates as he attacks people again and again, until finally, mom Donna Trenton and her son Tad are trapped inside the family car with Cujo lurking nearby, set to kill them any way he can. A showdown is inevitable but is just as predictable as the rest of the film.
Cujo was a modest box office success for Warner Brothers. The film was released August 12, 1983 in the United States, opening in second place that weekend.[2] It grossed a total of $21,156,152 domestically,[3] making it the fourth highest grossing horror film on 1983.
[edit] Awards and nominations
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011) |
- Best Horror Film (nominated)
- Lewis Teague - Audience Jury Award (won)
- Best film (Lewis Teague) - International Fantasy Award (nominated)
- Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Danny Pintauro) (nominated)
[edit] See also
- Man's Best Friend - a film about a genetically engineered mastiff.
- Curtis Joseph, National Hockey League goaltender nicknamed Cujo.
[edit] References
- ^ "Blu-Ray Art and Details: Near Dark, Cujo, and Frailty". http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/33991/blu-ray-art-and-details-near-dark-cujo-and-frailty.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office August 12-14, 1983". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?view=&yr=1983&wknd=32&p=.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
- ^ "Cujo (1983)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cujo.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
[edit] External links
- Cujo at the Internet Movie Database
- Cujo at AllRovi
- Cujo at Box Office Mojo
- Cujo at Rotten Tomatoes
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