Welcome one and all to the 19th part of my weekly blog series, The 52 In 52. Every week I review a film from my dust covered collection of DVDs and Blu Rays that I have never seen. Last week I reviewed the genuinely frightening Possum.
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This week I am reviewing the Stephen King adaptation, Cujo. There have been a lot of Stephen King adaptations over the years mostly good and even now there seems to be no slowing down in the near future. One of the most famous of Kings adaptations is Cujo, which I am ashamed to admit I had never seen until now. Everyone has a rough idea about the story of Cujo but, if you haven't Cujo follows the story of Donna and Tad Trenton as they battle to stay alive as they encounter a rabid St Bernard.
I really enjoyed Cujo, and was pleasantly surprised by the story. Cujo is more than a one dimensional horror film about an evil dog, there is a lot of story about the strained family unit and how it affects the overall dynamic between the three central characters. There is the feeling of real jeopardy throughout the film especially in the third act as Donna and Tad have numerous attempts at escaping the murderous rage of Cujo foiled.
The story is told at a great pace. There is a slow burn to the way in which the events unfold not over egging the threat of Cujo. When The main action happens it is relentless. The one issue I had is with the secondary story line between Donna and her old flame Steve. I felt it was shoehorned into the story to flesh it out with little to no payoff. I appreciate that the film would have been shorter but, I just didn't really enjoy it.
The acting was a little melodramatic at times but, I was impressed with Danny Pinatauro, who played Tad. During the dog attacks the performance is so convincing that it is a little distressing. Dee Wallace is decent enough as bored housewife Donna. Daniel Hugh - Kelly is pretty one dimensional as Vic as is Christopher Stone as Steve.
The soundtrack is standard horror fare for the time period it was made with a lot of ominous piano riffs mixed with a little 80's synth but, I felt it fit the film perfectly.
Overall Cujo is a decent entry into the Stephen King adaptation category. Great story telling and an unsettling tone more than make up for the shaky secondary story line and mediocre acting on some characters part.
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