Cujo

The killer dog movie is a funny genre.  Both funny haha and funny strange.  There aren’t a ton of these pictures and almost none are held in high regard.  On the humorous end it’s harder to take a killer dog seriously compared to a killer human.  On the strange end it’s also difficult to have your film revolve around a murderous canine because how do you make a dog as nuanced as a human character?  They can only do so much which limits the material you have to work with.  Basically you have two types of killer dogs, ones that are reality based and supernatural beasts.  From what I gather these movies tend to be reality based and Cujo is no exception.

Man oh man, back in the day Cujo was THE killer dog.  Not just killer dog picture but killer dog period.  Any unruly dog that showed up in movies and TV would get called Cujo as a joke and everyone got the reference.  You don’t hear it anymore though and haven’t in a pretty long while now that I think about it.  So because of the huge presence in pop culture when I grew up, and because it took me too damn long to get to it, my hopes were set pretty high.  This is a legendary mutt we’re talking about here.

Well there were more than a few surprises.  To start with this is more like two movies in one.  The first half is about Donna (Dee Wallace (The Lords of Salem)) cheating on her loving husband Vic (Daniel Hugh Kelly (The Good Son)).  We never find out why or get details on the backgrounds of any of the characters for that matter.  I like Vic’s storyline though.  You see he’s under stress because his marketing campaign for a line of sugary cereal aimed at kids is going sideways due to the shit causing internal hemorrhaging.  Yikes!  So at least he has other stuff on his plate besides being angry about his wife’s affair.  Donna and Vic put on a brave front for their seven year old son Tad (Danny Pintauro (Who’s the Boss?)) because they don’t want him to know what’s going on.  Plus he’s got his own issues worrying about fuckin’ asshole monsters in his closet.

Meanwhile outside of town there’s this other less well-to-do family with a St. Bernard named Cujo.  The father is a mechanic and Vic goes to him to get his fancy car repaired.  It’s on the mailman’s recommendation who says he does good work and won’t charge an arm and a leg so why not, right?  And I guess Vic and Donna were satisfied because later on they take in Donna’s car to be fixed too.

You’re probably wondering what any of this shit has to do with a homicidal hound.  Well it turns out Cujo has contracted rabies from a bat and suddenly he ain’t looking so good.  His hearing is ultra sensitive so loud noises like a phone ringing drive him crazy, he becomes intensely aggressive towards everyone and his appearance is a mess.  He’s slobbering more and looks like he’s been rolling around in mud.

The second half of the movie involves Donna and Tad going to the mechanic to patch up her car but some of the family members have been wiped out by Cujo and some have gone away to visit relatives (sorry, you’ll have to watch to find out the fate of each person).  Vic isn’t around either.  He’s on a business trip to save the big account and to think about where he stands on his marriage.  Unfortunately Donna’s car completely breaks down stranding these two at the mechanic’s house in the middle of nowhere.  Ok, it’s Cujo time.

One of the coolest things in the film is mother and son aren’t even afforded the luxury of being stuck at a stranger’s house.  Instead they get trapped inside their tiny Ford Pinto with Cujo jumping back and forth between waiting patiently for them to make a move and attacking the vehicle periodically to try to break through.

As this scenario drags on everyone involved gets worn down exponentially.  Cujo appears more gnarly by the minute.  At the end he’s totally filthy and has so much goddamn fluid coming out of his face he almost looks like an alien creature.  And Donna and Tad go without food, water and respite from the sweltering heat for days.  Tad ends up having dreadful seizures and Donna becomes somewhat delirious.

The performances are incredible, especially Dee Wallace who goes through a full spectrum of emotions throughout the ordeal.  The parts where she’s pounced on by Cujo are genuinely frightening and when she finally gets to her breaking point she becomes one imposing motherfucker who will do whatever she needs to save herself and her son.

I can see why this piece stuck in people’s memories.  The neat high concept horror of the second half is really fantastic.  It was interesting to see how the film was going to use the limited space and resources available to the characters.  And of course you’re faced with the physical and psychological toll this is taking on everyone.  There are so many pictures out there that use the trapped-in-a-confined-space idea but most come off too gimmicky and/or the performances aren’t strong enough which is perhaps the most essential component to pulling off a play-like movie with a small ensemble cast.  If those performances stink the whole thing’s gonna flounder.  But this is a clear cut above.  I think they pulled it off pretty perfectly here.

There’s also the unique and thought provoking idea of having the villain be a rabid dog.  The animal wasn’t trained to be an attack dog by humans or is possessed by an evil spirit or anything.  Cujo does all this bad horrific shit because he’s sick.  He got a disease through no fault of his own (I think sticking your head in a rabbit warren and being bit by a rabies infested bat is fairly innocent) and now he’s a raging maniac slaughtering people at every turn.  He doesn’t want to be this way.  He can’t help it.  This has got to be one of the most sympathetic bad guys of all time.  I mean what did this fuckin’ dog ever do to deserve this?  Goddamn do I feel bad for the poor little guy.

Now I haven’t seen every killer dog movie out there but this must be the best of the bunch.  It’s not only a smart idea with wonderful execution but it does everything you want it to do.  And just thinking quickly about it there are probably only two other killer dog pictures out there that are worth your time.  White Dog (which came out a year before Cujo actually) is about a racist dog and it’s a fascinating avenue to explore but it’s not really a horror film.  The other is Man’s Best Friend starring Lance Henriksen (Hard Target, Appaloosa).  It’s about a genetically modified super dog that swallows cats whole, pees acid and somehow knows how to cut the brakes on your car!  It’s a fun silly picture and I recommend it.

But getting back to Cujo, initially while watching I was worried because the first forty five mins really is a separate story unto itself.  Yes, you definitely need proper setup but it feels padded to bring the running time up to 90 mins.  However, once the killer dog stuff starts it’s smooth sailing.  You just need to have patience.

Oh shit, one last thing.  Jan de Bont (Die Hard, Black Rain) shot this but it’s really only during the Cujo shit (naturally) that you start to notice his brilliant handiwork.  I wonder if he got the gig based on his stint on Roar where he got right in the middle of filming dozens of lions and tigers (and almost got fucking scalped in the process).  I guess whoever hired him figured he could probably handle a dog.