BEFORE: This is how you become an expert on a topic, by putting in the time and doing diligent research - after this chain I can take a step back and draw some conclusions about Stephen King, like the fact that his name is spelled with a "PH", not "Steven" like I wrote yesterday. Sorry about that. Linking from "Cat's Eye", Drew Barrymore was also in the very famous "E.T." with Dee Wallace.
AFTER: I've got zombies coming up as a topic in a few days, another as yet untouched topic around here, but something tells me that virus-based films would have been a lot scarier, considering all the news about ebola these days. I watched a press conference the other day where the mayor of NYC and the fire commissioner and some hospital administrators were patting each other on the back for safely transporting ONE ebola patient to a hospital. First responders are fantastic, this is what they've trained for, no risk to the public, blah blah blah. When the truth is, they have NO IDEA if there were no mistakes made during this process, and they won't for another three weeks.
Rabies is a virus - and it still kills thousands of people every year, though animal control and vaccinations help keep that in check. Mostly spread through bites from dogs and bats (the movie gets this right), only a few humans have survived rabies infections - the main character in this film gets bitten at one point, but I'm sure she'll be fine. In the real world infected people exhibit flu-like symptoms, confusion, agitation, paranoia, partial paralysis, and later intense thirst, difficulty swallowing, and death. You want to be afraid of bats? Go ahead, but not because they suck your blood out, be afraid of what they're putting INTO your blood.
Rabid bats are found all over America's lower 48, but the virus can also be found in raccoons, skunks and foxes. I may live in an urban zone, but I've seen my share of raccoons. But what else can we learn from this film? Only have your car repaired at authorized service centers, I suppose, since the infected dog is located out on a farm where some back-alley car repair is performed.
But isn't there a great tradition in those slasher films (which I don't watch) about the killer only targeting teens that have pre-marital sex? Geez, you might as well put a target on your back if you're humping in a horror film. The lead character in "Cujo" is a wife who's cheating on her husband, so perhaps it's also a cautionary tale. Karma's a bitch, or bad things happen to bad people, so if we carry the argument to its logical conclusion, if you cheat on your spouse, you could end up trapped in a car in the middle of nowhere with a giant rabid dog outside.
The car in question is a Ford Pinto - and if you remember the 1980's, this make of car was prone to random explosions if it took a hit on the rear bumper or if you accidentally hit a pothole or something. Given the danger of driving a Pinto, I'm not sure if she was safer inside the car, or outside with the rabid dog.
Also starring Daniel Hugh Kelly, Danny Pintauro, Christopher Stone, Ed Lauter (last seen in "Family Plot"), Mills Watson, Jerry Hardin (last seen in "Pacific Heights").
RATING: 3 out of 10 cereal commercials
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