Cujo (1983)

Vic Trenton: There are no real monsters. Tad Trenton: Except for the one in my closet. "Unleash the terror." Cujo isn't a terrible movie by any means and it isn't a bad adaption of the Stephen King book either. It's just that Cujo isn't anywhere near King's best work. It's one of his least terrifying, horror stories. It's only scary is you have a St. Bernard, that just happens to be named Cujo. At the start of the movie Cujo is chasing a rabbit. He sticks his head into a hole and gets attacked by a bay, which bites him on the nose. The dog goes on a killing spree, before trapping a mother and son inside their dead car. The movie isn't really all that thrilling, but given that most of it is shot in a car, I have to say it is pretty well done. I especially liked the scene where the mother sits and the front of the car, after an attack, and the kid sits crying in the back. The camera is in the middle and slowly rotates between the two before it goes nuts and spins faster and faster, until it's just a blurry mess. The acting isn't too bad and the movie looks really good, with some great cinematography by Jan De Bont. If you are intrigues by the premise, you'll probably love this one; I however was not and it made the last hour very hard to sit through because I wasn't in anyway absorbed into the story.

Simple and scary, in fact it's too simple and it's not a great horror movie, but it's okay.

There are parts of this movie that are really really effective. There are other bits. not so much. Worth checking out for the Jan De Bont photography too.