Cujo: 25th Anniversary Edition – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

Available at Amazon.com

Lionsgate presents Cujo: 25th Anniversary Edition. Written by Don Carlos Dunaway and Lauren Currier. Based on the novel by Stephen King. 95 minutes. Rated R for frightening scenes, violence and mild language. Originally released in 1983

Directed By:

Lewis Teague

Cast:

Dee Wallace. Donna Trenton
Danny Pintauro. Tad Trenton
Daniel Hugh Kelly. Vic Trenton

The Film:

The film PETA doesn’t want you to see.

While Stephen King may be he master of horror on the page, few of his books have transitioned well to the silver screen and Cujo is no exception. However it must be noted, as a huge fan of King’s works, I found Cujo to be one of his worst books. So it’s not a surprise that the movie wouldn’t be all that.

Cujo is more a drama than a horror film. It’s only in the last third of the film where anything remotely scary happens. Until then the story centers on the problems the Trenton family is having. Donna (Wallace) is cheating on her husband Vic (Hugh-Kelly). On top of that they are having serious car trouble and Vic’s job is in jeopardy. When Vic goes out of town to save his business, Donna and Tad (Pintauro), her son, take the car to get it fixed way out in the middle of nowhere.

What she didn’t count on was no one being home and that their dog Cujo would be blood thirsty and running rabid. It’s only here when Cujo traps mother and son in their car does any amount of horror enter the film.

The film has some pretty gory moments and the transformation of Cujo from friendly dog to rabid beast is rather impressive. I’d say the best acting in the film comes from the dog. The rest of the cast is pretty dull and lifeless. The acting on the family’s part is mediocre at best preventing their troubles from becoming engaging as a story.

Many horror films play on the idea of the slow build up to the climactic pay off and sometimes it works. However, this time the whole thing falls flat. The best part of the whole film is that an actual Saint Bernard was used to play Cujo. Were the film remade today it would all be crappy CGI, so there’s something to be said for that. However outside that there is very little that will draw in the viewer.

The DVD:

This film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen and Dolby Digital Monaural. English and Spanish subtitles.

Extras:

Dog Days: The Making Of Cujo in three parts: This is a very in-depth documentary covering ever facet of the making of this film. It’s more interesting than the film itself and would be even better if the film they were talking about was worthy of the attention.

Commentary by director Lewis Teague: Teague really loves this film and that is very apparent from this commentary. The way he talks about the film if you don’t like it makes you want to like it. If you are a fan of the film then you will definitely enjoy this commentary.

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for Cujo: 25th Anniversary Edition
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE MOVIE

5.5
THE VIDEO

7
THE AUDIO

7
THE EXTRAS

4
REPLAY VALUE

2
OVERALL
5
(NOT AN AVERAGE)

The Inside Pulse
Perhaps when originally released this might have been considered a scary movie. However it just hasn’t aged well. I really can’t recommend this film to someone who doesn’t know what they’re getting themselves into.

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years