into half-fish monstrosities. Our protagonists are a mix of sex- crazed college kids on an ill-fated field trip (cue the skinny-dipping scene) and the bubbas and bubbettes from a nearby gas sta- tion, including such lovable standbys as the floozy in the cut- off jeans and the inbred kid from DELIVERANCE, all performed by a bunch of Northerners with blackened teeth and slipping ac- cents. If you find homophobia, incest and cussing to be funny, you might find something to like here; otherwise, steer clear of this $12,000 shot-on-video exercise in puerility that actually throws up comic-art panels whenever any- thing requiring money and ef- fort (an explosion, a car wreck) occurs in the narrative.


Adding to our annoyance, the picture is flat with weak black lev- els and blooming whites, and audio is so pumped up that any- thing higher than the lowest vol- ume setting is cringe-inducing. Extras include deleted scenes and previews to other Shock-O- Rama releases.


CUJO


25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION


1983, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, DD-2.0/MA/16:9/ LB/ST/CC/+, $14.95, 92m 34s, DVD-1


By Shane M. Dallmann


Though initially greeted with less than universal critical enthu- siasm, CUJO has proven itself amongst the most enduring and successful thrillers based on the works of Stephen King. Director Lewis Teague considers it his best and most accomplished film, paving the way as it did to such high-profile assignments as THE JEWEL OF THE NILE and NAVY SEALS.


As most readers know, CUJO tells the tale of a small family in


8


distress. Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace) is suffering from rest- lessness and carrying on a reck- less affair with handyman Joe Kemp (Wallace’s real-life hus- band Christopher Stone), while husband Vic (Daniel Hugh-Kelly) is facing the spectre of financial ruin with the potential loss of a lucrative advertising contract. The Trentons’ various woes may be causing young Tad (Danny Pintauro) to see monsters in his closet and under his bed—but the title beast, a rabid Saint Ber- nard, is waiting to show the family the true meaning of


“crisis”—trapping mother and child inside their automobile as untreated bat bites turn it into a mauling beast. Fidelity to King’s characters and exemplary perfor- mances from the entire cast (also featuring Ed Lauter and young Billy Jacoby from BLOODY BIRTHDAY and SUPERSTITION) succeed in creating viewer em- pathy throughout, and Teague worked overtime to master the techniques of cinematic shock and suspense (aided immeasur- ably by DP Jan de Bont, later the director of SPEED and the remake of THE HAUNTING).

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