Horrifying

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skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I actually watched the movie for the tenth time or so last night. It's good stuff, but the actors ARE...well...good. I feel so bad for them. :(

But at least Tad lives in the movie... There's that.

And as much as I sobbed for days over the end of the book (and I did. And I can't imagine ever reading it again--as a parent whose little guy resembles Tad a lot...no way), I loathed the end of the movie for that. It was a cockadoodie cheat, as Annie Wilkes would say.
Water doesn't cure death.
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
82,822
47
United States
I like what Teague did with Cujo. The first 25 minutes of this movie could be a Disney movie, almost (omitting cursing and sex scenes, of course). Teague is very faithful to the novel, I think. There is a lot of tension
with Donna trying not to get caught in her affair, and Cujo's gradual change of temperament and even the stress with Vic's losing the Sharp cereal account. Naturally, viewers are anticipating the big scenes with the Pinto dying in the Camber's yard and the subsequent climax, but these other details at the beginning are necessary and give the ending that much more meaning.
The novel itself doesn't really switch gears until around page 120. I found the entire book fascinating and could feel King trying to achieve a contemporary novel in the vein of Philip Roth or John Updike, but in this instance the mundane and underbelly of suburban life is stripped down to a primal horror. Everything we learn beforehand is boiled down to a simmering metaphor, "the monster in the closet" that each of the character's face finally attacks and must be confronted. Adultery, rage, failed ambitions, etc must be contended with and it comes down to fight or flight. Donna Trenton, (a blue eyed brunette in the book) is the first female character to fight the 'evil' without help. More female protagonists would follow but I believe Donna Trenton was the first to go solo combat. Wendy Torrance had her brave battle but ultimately had help.
Like Misery, this is a straightforward, non-supernatural (more or less) novel, more so in the movie. I agree with King that Dee Wallace deserved an Oscar. Her performance is as good as any Streep performance I've ever seen. Solid book, solid adaptation.
 

TanyaS

painterly painter!
Nov 18, 2014
406
1,618
53
Auckland
This is one of the few movies I won't watch. It's not that I can't stand a scare here and then, even a BIG one. But there's an instant when the kid's screaming in the back of the car, watching his mother get mauled by the dog that I just can't watch. Maybe the kid was too good an actor, or maybe I just have a delicate spot about kids in such distress. But I just can't.
yeah, it's a pretty uncomfortable watch. I love the first forty minutes or so, before they are trapped in the car. The build-up scenes!! Beautifully shot though!!
 

TanyaS

painterly painter!
Nov 18, 2014
406
1,618
53
Auckland
I watched the movie again a month or so ago, and the book is in my top three. There are no bad dogs, agreed, but Stephen sure made whatever was lurking inside ol' Cujo utterly desperate and all-consuming. The dog never had a chance, really, and that was the real horror of the story. He was just reacting. All the fuzzy fella wanted was the noise to stop. :(
If Charity Chamber had taken notice of her son re Cujo's awful condition, the whole thing would have been averted. But then there would be a very short story!!
 

TanyaS

painterly painter!
Nov 18, 2014
406
1,618
53
Auckland
I like what Teague did with Cujo. The first 25 minutes of this movie could be a Disney movie, almost (omitting cursing and sex scenes, of course). Teague is very faithful to the novel, I think. There is a lot of tension
with Donna trying not to get caught in her affair, and Cujo's gradual change of temperament and even the stress with Vic's losing the Sharp cereal account. Naturally, viewers are anticipating the big scenes with the Pinto dying in the Camber's yard and the subsequent climax, but these other details at the beginning are necessary and give the ending that much more meaning.
The novel itself doesn't really switch gears until around page 120. I found the entire book fascinating and could feel King trying to achieve a contemporary novel in the vein of Philip Roth or John Updike, but in this instance the mundane and underbelly of suburban life is stripped down to a primal horror. Everything we learn beforehand is boiled down to a simmering metaphor, "the monster in the closet" that each of the character's face finally attacks and must be confronted. Adultery, rage, failed ambitions, etc must be contended with and it comes down to fight or flight. Donna Trenton, (a blue eyed brunette in the book) is the first female character to fight the 'evil' without help. More female protagonists would follow but I believe Donna Trenton was the first to go solo combat. Wendy Torrance had her brave battle but ultimately had help.
Like Misery, this is a straightforward, non-supernatural (more or less) novel, more so in the movie. I agree with King that Dee Wallace deserved an Oscar. Her performance is as good as any Streep performance I've ever seen. Solid book, solid adaptation.
Dee Wallace is definately underrated. Movies like Cujo (great atmosphere etc) are never made these days!! It's all just blood and gore and no suspense.
 

TanyaS

painterly painter!
Nov 18, 2014
406
1,618
53
Auckland
So true! A line that stands out for me, in its tragic context, is "Tad played with the ducks".
why oh why did the Tadder have to die (in the book).
Of course, it is fiction...but reads so real...my favourite characters are Charity and Brett Chamber and snooty Holly...I just find them so interesting.
 
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MikiM

Well-Known Member
May 25, 2016
66
231
58
Houston, Texas
This book was probably the hardest for me to read. I bawled like a baby at the end. The movie just ticked me off. My poor boyfriend kept slumping down because I was getting madder and madder. What was funny was the couple behind us...the girl was doing the same thing. At some point, she and my boyfriend switched places, and she and I just griped about the movie together. The movie, to me, made Cujo a monster. And in the book, HE wasn't the monster...RABIES was. They couldn't translate that to the screen. Plus, they changed the ending where Thad and Donna were concerned, and that, to me, seemed cheesy and hokey. A tragedy cannot have a happy ending.
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
82,822
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United States
Hollywood would not let that movie get made with the same ending as the book. Look at the controversy concerning the ending to The Mist. Frank Darabont took a huge risk filming that ending.
Yeah, it definitely would be an uphill battle. I thought The Mist movie ending was perfect. Darabont is a courageous visionary and he has an ability to enhance any King book he adapts. King's thumbprint is never erased and Darabont, with a winning streak for morphing print to film, unerringly follows his artistic instincts to cinematic greatness. Please let Darabont make Lisey's Story! (Not sure who has the rights and I understand he is going to do The Monkey and possibly The Long Walk...so let's not press our luck, ha!).
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Yeah, it definitely would be an uphill battle. I thought The Mist movie ending was perfect. Darabont is a courageous visionary and he has an ability to enhance any King book he adapts. King's thumbprint is never erased and Darabont, with a winning streak for morphing print to film, unerringly follows his artistic instincts to cinematic greatness. Please let Darabont make Lisey's Story! (Not sure who has the rights and I understand he is going to do The Monkey and possibly The Long Walk...so let's not press our luck, ha!).
Did you ever see Darabont's short film The Woman In The Room? For a student film it's pretty powerful. Darabont definitely knows how to bring a King book/story to the screen without compromising King's 'voice' in the process.
 

Brittney

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2018
88
410
34
i have seen the movie. i have not read the book. im sure the book is terrifying. i have to say in the movie they did an excellent job making that saint Bernard look terrifying! being a attacked by a dog is one of my greatest fears. probably why this book is so scary. i have a great dane and although he is a gentle giant if he was to ever become vicious such as this st bernard the the blows would be crippling.