Cujo is a 1983 American horror film based on Stephen King’s 1981 novel of the same name, directed by Lewis Teague. It was written by Don Carlos Dunaway and Barbara Turner (using the pen name Lauren Currier)[4][5] and stars Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh Kelly and Danny Pintauro.
It was released in August, four months before Christine, another Stephen King story released theatrically the same year.[6]
The film follows a mother and her son who are trapped inside their car while protecting themselves from a rabid St. Bernard.
Despite mixed reviews and modest box office receipts during its theatrical release, the film has gathered a cult following in the years since its release.
Plot
Cujo, a friendly and easygoing St. Bernard, chases a wild rabbit and inserts his head into a cave, where a rabid bat bites him on the nose. The Trenton family—advertising executive Vic, housewife Donna, and young son Tad—take their car to the rural home of abusive mechanic Joe Camber for repairs, where they meet Cujo, the Camber family’s pet, and get along well with him.
Vic and Donna’s marriage is tested when Vic learns that Donna had been having an affair with her ex-boyfriend from high school, Steve Kemp. The early signs of Cujo’s infection start to appear, though no one notices. Joe Cambers wife Charity and his son Brett decide to leave for a week to visit Charity’s sister. The furious stage of Cujo’s infection sets in. Cujo refrains from attacking Brett but goes completely mad and kills the Cambers’ alcoholic neighbor Gary. He then mauls Joe to death.
Vic goes out of town on a business trip as Donna and Tad return to the Cambers’ house for more car repairs. Cujo tries to attack them, and they are forced to take shelter in their Ford Pinto. Donna tries to drive home, but the car’s alternator dies and the two are trapped inside. The hot sun makes conditions unbearable, and Donna realizes that she must do something before they both die from heatstroke or dehydration.
Attempts at escape are foiled by Cujo repeatedly attacking the car, breaking a window, and biting Donna. Vic returns and finds Donna and Tad missing and his house vandalized by Kemp. Police realize his wife and son might be at the Cambers’. Local sheriff George Bannerman goes but Cujo mauls him to death.
Donna attempts to get to the house to bring an overheated Tad water; she fights Cujo with a baseball bat until it breaks. Cujo jumps and is impaled in the stomach by the broken bat. Donna takes the sheriff’s gun and contemplates shooting the dog, but decides saving Tad is more important. Cujo tries again to attack Donna but she manages to kill Cujo before Vic arrives and reunites with his family.
