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From Stephen King's novel comes a chilling tale of a quiet New England town and a horrible evil in the dead of Summer


Based on a Stephen King novel, Cujo is not as menacing or as frightening as other film adaptations of King's popular stories and especially cannot compare to the 1976 Carrie. Cujo is a happy St. Bernard until he is bitten on the nose by a rabid bat and slowly begins manifesting the symptoms of his fatal illness. His condition deteriorates as he attacks people again and again, until finally, mom Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace) and her son Tad (Danny Pintauro) are trapped inside the family car with Cujo lurking nearby, set to kill them any way he can. A showdown is inevitable but is as predictable as the rest of the film.

The Trentons - Vic, Donna and their son Tad - are a normal suburban family. Vic works in advertising, Donna is a housewife and Tad is a sensitive little boy who has a fear of monsters in his closet. One day, the Trenton family takes their car to the rural home of mechanic Joe Camber for some repairs. While there, they meet Cujo - the Camber family's easy-going St. Bernard. Donna notices that Cujo has a bite on his nose, but thinks little of it.

Vic and Donna's marriage is tested when Vic learns that Donna has been having an affair with her ex-boyfriend, Steve Kemp. Meanwhile, Cujo's bite came from a rabid bat and his previously docile nature begins changing as he succumbs to the disease. Mrs. Camber and her son, Brett, leave for a week to visit her sister. Cujo is soon completely crazed and kills the abusive Joe and his neighbor Gary Pervier.

Vic goes out of town on a business trip. Donna and Tad return to the Cambers' house for more car repairs and Cujo attacks them. Donna and Tad take shelter in their car, but the alternator dies, meaning the two are unable to leave. Therefore, they are forced to stay inside their Ford Pinto while Cujo attacks repeatedly.

The hot sun makes the conditions nearly unbearable and Donna knows that she must do something before they both die from heatstroke or dehydration. Attempts at escape, however, are foiled by the mad Cujo's repeated attacks. The local Sheriff comes to the house for a brief standoff, before Cujo kills him. Donna decides that she must risk leaving the car, but Cujo bites her on the leg and forces her back inside. Eventually, the badly wounded Donna makes another desperate escape attempt but is again attacked and must return to the car.

Vic arrives home to rekindle his marriage, but finds out Donna and Tad are missing. He suspects the possessive Steve Kemp of kidnapping, but then realizes his wife and son might be at the Camber's residence.

Meanwhile, Donna takes advantage of a momentary distraction and hits Cujo with a baseball bat until the bat breaks off, leaving only a jagged handle. Cujo jumps at her and is impaled by the broken bat. Donna then uses the sheriff's revolver to break open the windshield and retrieve Tad, as Cujo had broken all of the door handles. The duo make it to the house where Donna revives her dehydrated, over-heated son.

Still alive, Cujo breaks through the kitchen window. Donna pulls out the Sheriff's pistol, shooting and finally killing Cujo. Vic arrives and is reunited with Donna and Tad.

Reviews of the film were mixed, and a more recent collation of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes has earned Cujo a "rotten" rating of 59% based on 29 reviews. 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.[3] It grossed a total of $21,156,152 domestically,[4] making it the fourth highest grossing horror film of 1983.

Release Date: August 12, 1983

Distrib: Warner Brothers


Boxoffice: $21,156,152 2014: $54,737,300