Stephen Kingbelieves the best performance out of his screen adaptations comes from an underrated 1980s chiller. The 1980s were a prolific period forStephen King bookadaptations. It felt like every major filmmaker - from Stanley Kubrick to John Carpenter and Rob Reiner - had to helm at least one film based on his work. Even King got in on the action with 1986’sMaximum Overdrive, though sadly, that might be the worstStephen King movieof the bunch.
King might be permanently associated with the horror genre, but he’s behind some outstanding dramas too. Several films based on his books have been Oscar-nominated, includingStand by Me,CarrieandThe Green Mile.Miseryis the only King film with an Oscar win, which went to Kathy Bates for her unforgettable turn as superfan Annie Wilkes. King adaptations have provided many actors with some of their most iconic roles, be it Morgan Freeman inThe Shawshank Redemption or, more recently, Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Dancing Clown inIT.
Stephen King’s Cujo Sequel Finally Gave Me Closure After 43 Years
The Cujo sequel in You Like It Darker doesn’t have the visceral horror of Cujo, but revolves around a quieter sort of nightmare that doesn’t go away.
Stephen King Believes Dee Wallace’s Cujo Performance Is The Best Of His Movie Adaptations
Wallace’s turn in Cujo is hard to forget
In 2011,TCM aired the documentaryA Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King, where the author took viewers on a guided journey through the genre. He touched on adaptations of his work too, including reiterating his distaste for Kubrick’sThe Shining. King also singles out Dee Wallace’s turn inCujoas the best performance out of the movies based on his novels.
Dee Wallace in that movie gave the best performance that I’ve ever seen in one of my movies. Dee Wallace probably deserved to be nominated as much, if not more, than Kathy Bates. It’s a performance that grows in my eye every time that I see it.
In this 1983 horror effort, Wallace plays a mother left stranded in her broken-down car with her young son, while both are stalked by the titular Saint Bernard Cujo. This poor dog was given rabies after being bitten by a bat and spends the movie turning from a sweet-natured animal into a bloodthirsty monster.Cujois essentially a survival horror tale, where Wallace’s Donna tries to figure a way out of her nightmare predicament before she and her child die of dehydration. Thankfully,Cujoavoids the book’s darker ending.
King’s praise for Wallace’s work is well-founded. Donna is a flawed character and dealing with the fallout of her husband learning of her extramarital affair just prior to her encounter with Cujo. She commits completely to the harrowing fight Donna undertakes, with the third act being particularly grueling. For some reason,Wallace’s incredible work doesn’t get cited as often as it should, but it truly is one of the most unforgettable turns in the King canon.
Dee Wallace Is Horror Movie Royalty
From The Howling to Supernatural, Dee Wallace automatically improves a project
Wallace’s most famous role is probably as Mary Taylor inE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, but her horror CV is a deep and impressive one. Some of her earliest roles were in the genre too, beginning withThe Stepford Wivesand Wes Craven’sThe Hills Have Eyes. While her character in the latter proves to be ill-fated, this was an early example of how she could take a supporting role and still create a fleshed-out character. Just beforeCujo, Wallace fronted the werewolf chillerThe Howling.
This gave the actress her first lead role, and while the movie itself isn’t one of director Joe Dante’s best, Wallace again brought a lot of depth to protagonist Karen White. This would become a recurring theme in her career, where no matter the size of the role, Wallace could always be relied upon to do great work. She didn’t even phone in a thinly written part in something like obscure sequelAlligator II: The Mutation.
While she doesn’t get cited alongside the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis or Sigourney Weaver, genre fans consider Dee Wallace as horror royalty.
Other Wallace credits of note include the originalCritters, Ti West’sHouse of the Devil, Rob Zombie’sHalloweenandThe Lords of Salem, and she even did a memorable guest role onSupernatural. While she doesn’t get cited alongside the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis or Sigourney Weaver, genre fans consider Wallace to be horror royalty. Looking at her work inCujoorThe Howling, that’s hard to disagree with.
Dee Wallace returned to theCrittersfranchise with 2019’sCritters Attack!, though for legal reasons, her character was renamed Aunt Dee instead of Helen Brown.
Cujo Is A Highly Underrated Stephen King Adaptation
Cujo is usually lower ranked among King movies
King is incredible when it comes to dreaming up story hooks, and inCujo, he thought of a doozy. It’s a simple but nightmarish scenario, where a mother has to choose between getting eaten by a rabid dog or letting herself and her child die of heatstroke in their boiling car. The film arrived the same year as John Carpenter’sChristineor David Cronenberg’sThe Dead Zone, and despite performing on par with those efforts (grossing $21 million, according toBox Office Mojo),Cujois often overshadowed in discussions of the author’s work.
King himself is a big admirer of theCujomovie, and it’s vastly underrated. The film is a downbeat horror gem; a sweaty, dread-infused thriller that milks every piece of suspense it can from a very simple premise. It helps that it feels so grounded, adding to the visceral feel. PoorCujois a very sympathetic villain too, since he’s not responsible for his actions either, and there’s very little sense of victory once he’s defeated.
Source: A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King,Box Office Mojo
Cujo
Cast
Based on the novel by Stephen King, Cujo is a horror film that centers on a St. Bernard that becomes the terror of a local town. When the friendly Cujo is bitten by a bat with rabies, Cujo begins to slowly change into something almost demonic as he begins to viciously attack those around him, leaving a mother and son trapped by an ever-growing threat.
Stephen King
Discover the latest news and filmography for Stephen King, known for The Dark Tower series, The Stand, IT, The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, Misery, the Bill Hodges trilogy, and more.
