Max’s Drive-In Movie – Cujo

Cujo Header

It’s getting near Halloween so I’m going to feature some more horror movies in the next two weeks…that’s my excuse anyway. I will start by saying that this is not the best Stephen King adaptation by any stretch but it’s entertaining. I think it’s thrilling and I like the director’s pacing in this one. Plus…the ability to make a Saint Bernard look convincingly menacing takes a lot of work. Also, check out a movie reviewer… my friend Bernie from Reelybernie. He is one of the best movie reviewers on WP and he is doing a Halloween series now.

As some of you know, I have had three Saint Bernards, so I like any movie with them, even if it’s evil. Cujo is not really evil; he has rabies and it’s a frightening thought. They are very strong dogs, they can pull thousands of pounds so if one was rabid you would be…to put it mildly in bad trouble. I have played wrestle each one and I couldn’t imagine if they were being serious. I watched this movie again with Martha, my current Saint, right beside me which was cool because she is the spitting image of Cujo with her marks.

Our first Saint was 175lbs with no fat on her. I did see her in action though one time. A German Shepard was coming at my wife from across the street, our dog knocked down our metal gate and ended up body-slamming the Shepard to the ground. It got up and never came back. She also wandered out on the road one day after getting out of the house. She was hit by a church bus…I thought she was dead but she got back up and barked at the bus. We did take her to a vet and she had some bruising but that was it. They are tough dogs but the most lovable lugs you would ever meet.

This 1983 movie starts with a big fun Saint Bernard chasing a rabbit…he sticks his big nose down a rabbit hole and is bitten by a bat. Cue the slow descent into a rabid madness. I’ve never read this book before but in the movie, nothing supernatural happens which is strange for a Stephen King adaptation. I’ve read where the book does have some supernatural events in it but not many. The movie just concentrates on the story.

At first, Cujo is just a regular, lovable dog who belongs to a mechanic named Joe Camber, his son, and his wife. But after the bat bite, Cujo starts acting strange and becomes more aggressive as the rabies takes over. You could tell that Joe Camber was not father or husband of the year material. His wife and son planned on a trip to her sister’s home. The movie didn’t say but I think they were leaving and never coming back.

Meanwhile, we meet the main characters, Donna Trenton (played by Dee Wallace), her husband Vic, and their young son Tad. Donna is having some personal troubles because she’s having an affair, and her marriage is falling apart. Vic, her husband, has to leave town for work, leaving Donna and Tad on their own. Dee Wallace was fantastic in this role. The critics were mixed but most gave her high marks for this movie.

One day, Donna and Tad drive out to Joe Camber’s farm to get their car fixed, but when they arrive, they discover that Cujo is no longer the friendly dog he once was. My favorite scene is where Camber’s son Brent calls for Cujo before he and his mom leave for her sister’s house…Cujo comes out of the fog growling and foaming but recognizes Brent (his owner) and slowly walks away. No one else gets that lucky.

They are now stuck at the farm and Cujo is now rabid and bloodthirsty and he quickly attacks them. Donna and Tad end up trapped in their broken-down car, with Cujo circling around them, ready to pounce. The heat inside the car is unbearable, and they can’t escape because the dog is waiting for them. 

Dee Wallace was fantastic in this film. The movie got mixed reviews but Wallace was singled out by most as doing a great job. Lewis Teague directed this movie and I have to give him credit. He didn’t try to rush it, he slowly built the tension up and it paid off at the end.

Despite the film’s portrayal of Cujo as a terrifying dog, the Saint Bernard dogs used on set were friendly and often wagged their tails during scenes where they were supposed to be menacing. To overcome this, the filmmakers had to tie down the dogs’ tails until they finished with the scene.

..,

Unknown's avatar

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

56 thoughts on “Max’s Drive-In Movie – Cujo”

  3. I read the book first, then the movie. I found it disturbing that a Saint Bernard, one of the most lovable brutes is the bad dog. Should have used a Pit Bull or a menacing Chihuahua. I thought Pet Cemetery was more frightening.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Oh Pet Cemetary was really good…. ha yea Chihuahuas are the meanest dogs I’ve ever seen…thank goodness they are as small as they are.

      Like

      Reply

  4. Never seen this one. Just the idea of rabies gives me the shivers. Speaking of Stephen King though, I watched ‘1922’ the other day, which was adapted from one of his short stories. Pretty creepy…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We live in the middle of 3 acres of woods so we make sure she gets rabies shots…for good reason.
      I have to see that Stewart…thanks for bringing it up.
      I have another King movie coming up…probably the best adaptation.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. Too scary for me to watch I think, though I did read the book many years back. Seems like it might have been the most all-lights-on and lock the doors type of book among the ones of his I’ve read.
    Phil’s probably right about chihuahuas- they’re crazy. Not rare to have one come out and chase a car!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Chihuahuas ARE the devil. If ever an animal had a Napoleon complex…they do.
      The movie isn’t too scary…the book is probably much worse. My favorite King book is hands down IT.

      Like

      Reply

      4. lol…ok that makes more sense but I thought…hmmm… maybe Carl thought she shouldn’t be afraid of a 170 lb dog with rabies lol.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. I liked this girl who had a Saint Bernard and one day were chatting through her fenced in yard and I decided to hop over it. Her dog came running up to me with its mouth open and it almost swallowed my whole head. It left some teeth marks, but I understood that it was only trying to protect her.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Usually they would let thiefs in your house…but if they even think you are trying to hurt someone they love…they would get you.
      Bailey’s friends would play and sometimes push him just playing…she would go up to them in their face and bark…she never touched them…but made it clear she didn’t want them pushing Bailey or even Bailey pushing them. She wanted order and got it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Hope the Church didn’t sue you for denting their bus Max…

    My brother has a Saint. He has broken ‘his’ sofa.

    King -at his best is a great writer, he puts in the finer details that most horror authors rush past to get to the climactic gouts of spraying blood. The story, like ‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon,’ he makes more about the journey.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. lol…no but they did get out and were concerned and tried to help anyway.
      Yes they can break things without even knowing or trying. Big lovable clumsy oafs.

      Yea he is…he takes something in this where yes…it can happen unlike Pennywise so you can relate to it.
      I haven’t read or seen that one… must do that.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. Never seen this one, but on the subject of St. Bernards, my sister had one in the ’70’s. He would sometimes get out of his fenced-in area and, before they had their own kids, he would mosey over to where the neighbor kids were waiting for the school bus. He would get on with them, proceed to the back, flop down and … stay there. The driver couldn’t budge him, and my brother-in-law would have to go pick him up. This happened about three times, I think.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. That is funny! It sounds like one completely. They are sweet but stubborn. When I was a kid my mom would not let my sister or I have any pets in the house. We had outside dogs…but we had an encylopedia and I would look through the dog section and I fell in love with a Saint by the way they looked. So when I left home and married…I got the biggest one I could find to be in our house.
      In Tennessee they cannot live out side…it gets too hot for them.

      Like

      Reply

      2. Well if you ever want to I’m here. I worked from home today and she is right beside me as usual.

        Like

      3. Well, here goes. I was brought up Catholic (lapsed now), and we used to have a mass on Saturday at 5:30 and they would have Confession before that. So one Saturday when I was about 11 or 12, I was going to go to Confession. It was wintertime and I was walking to church about 5 blocks away. I was always one of, if not the smallest kid in my class, so I wasn’t very big. I was just across from the church, when a St. Bernard on the loose comes along. I’ve always loved dogs, but this one was pretty big, so I decided to just ignore it and mind my own business. Well, he didn’t ignore me, he started coming over to “play” butting me with his head and knocking me down in the snow-covered street. I had on my “good” mittens (fake white rabbit fur) for church, and he got hold of one of them and ran off with it. I noticed some kids standing on the porch of a house across from the church, so I went over there and they said the dog had been chasing them around too. I was standing at the foot of the porch steps, holding on to the railing and trying to catch my breath, when the dog comes up behind me, puts his forepaws over my shoulders, and leans his weight on me. I didn’t stay upright for long, down in the snow again. I don’t even remember what happened after that, but I know I went home with one mitten. I wish I had a video of it because it would be hilarious. It wasn’t vicious and just wanted to play, but I was no match weight-wise.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Oh that is so funny! They don’t know their own size and weight so I could see that happening. Yes I agree I wish you would have a video of it.
        Ours will lay down and put half her body under a chair at times and then get up…the chair and all comes up with her.
        Thank you for the story…that made my day. They do love to play.

        Like

  11. I’ve never owned a St. Bernard. One of my uncle’s neighbors did, though. I met him one night when I found a squeak toy in my uncle’s front yard and proceeded to squeak it. I heard a brief rumbling sound and then, suddenly, I was flat on my back on the lawn. Fortunately, he was only trying to lick me to death. If he’d had evil intentions, I would no longer be here.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you for that story! They are great dogs but yea…number 1 rule…never teach them to jump up on people or suddenly you will be looking up at them as you found out.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. One last thought about CUJO: this is one movie based on Stephen King that I liked more than the source material because of a better ending. A positive one, in this case. I liked THE MIST more than the novella because it had an ending, even if it wasn’t necessarily positive.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That is right…the little boy dies in the book. I’ve never seen The Mist before so I’ll check that out. Thank you…
        The one adaptation I was unhappy with was IT. I wanted them to go by the book…it’s my favorite book by him.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. It’s weird but I’ve never seen it, only heard of it and what it was about. It’s too bad they give bats a bad rap but also St. Bernards. We had a dog that was half St. Bernard, half German Shepherd. His mother was a German Shepherd and belonged to one of my folks’ friends. Shortly after having a litter of puppies, she was hit by a car. We took 2 of the puppies and named one Harry and the other Tonto (after a movie that was popular at the time.) Both puppies had terrible worms. Harry didn’t survive them, but Tonto did. We had him for many years. He met with a sad end, but that’s a story for another day.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      2. lol…none at all! I dont’ think!
        You know…it’s not like Beethoven….they only time any drool comes is A after they drink water or B if they get excited. We never had a problem with that….and they don’t eat much as adults….BUT as a puppy they can eat you into the poor house lol.

        Liked by 1 person

  15. Sorry for my delayed message. I mean’t to reply to it much earlier. This is yet another movie you have presented which I haven’t seen since I was very young. We watched it numerous times and it scared the heck out of me. I would love to see it again. Thanks for the trip up memory lane.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Dana at Regular Girl Devos Cancel reply