Cult Classic Stephen King Adaptation Getting New Streaming Home As Netflix Remake Continues Development

A Stephen King cult classic movie from the ‘80s is getting a new streaming home, as development continues on its Netflix remake. The Life of Chuck is the latest movie based on a King book to hit theaters, debuting June 13 to great critical fanfare, but relatively modest box office. No matter how the Mike Flanagan-directed movie ultimately fares financially, Hollywood’s hunger for films adapted from King’s books is unlikely to abate.

Studios’ appeтιтe for King adaptations has indeed long been ravenous. The ’80s saw best-selling books The Shining, The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Zone, Christine and many others being translated from page to screen. When new King stories aren’t available, Hollywood has no problem double-dipping on some of these classics, though remakes like Firestarter and Pet Sematary have tended to be disappointing. Despite the mixed track record of King remakes, another classic from the author’s catalog is getting a new version, with a major streaming service putting up the money.

Did you know: Bryan Fuller revealed plans for a Christine remake, but the project seems to be stalled out on the highway.

Stephen King’s Cujo Is Getting A New Streaming Home On July 1, With A Netflix Remake Also On The Way

The Original Released In 1983

Cujo covered in blood in front of a car in Cujo

King’s cult classic killer dog movie Cujo will soon have a new streaming home, giving viewers a chance to experience the original, even as they await the recently-reported remake. Netflix is developing this new adaptation of King’s spine-tingling 1981 novel about a rabid St. Bernard terrorizing a mother and her son, promising to update the carnage shown in the 1983 original.

It will be some time before King fans can stream the new Cujo, but they can give themselves a refresher on the earlier version in the meantime, as the 1983 fright-fest is headed to Shudder beginning on July 1.

For fans of…

Stephen King movies
Horror films about killer animals
Psychological thrillers featuring mothers and children
Brutal survival films

Why You Should Watch

Cujo is a gentle St. Bernard who is bitten on the nose by a rabid bat and turns into a crazed monster. Animal-attack horror has seldom been as harrowing as 1983’s movie adaptation of King’s book, starring Dee Wallace as a mom who goes into survival mode when she and her son are trapped in their broken-down car as a frenzied Cujo viciously attacks.

Much of Cujo is about as basic as horror gets. There’s a killer dog, and Wallace and her son can’t get away. The dog leaves and there is a moment of peace for the traumatized duo, a chance to catch their breath, but the viewer is kept on the edge of their seat, waiting for the rabid beast to return.

Cujo’s tension-and-release pattern is kept going by journeyman director Lewis Teague, who uses some inventive sH๏τ-making to capture the feeling of being trapped in a tiny car. Unlike many King stories, which sprawl all over the place, this one is compact and focused, delivering an elemental brand of horror that retains its power even 40-plus years later.

Wallace’s gripping performance is central to the movie’s effect, as her character struggles to protect her son while unraveling emotionally. Cujo’s author once said Wallace deserved an Oscar nomination, and he may have a point, as her performance is one of the most unrelentingly intense in horror film history.

What ScreenRant Has Said…

Dee Wallace’s lead performance powers the movie, but the vicious attack scenes and uneasy tension built up by director Lewis Teague throughout also make it a memorable watch.