Man’s best friend? Not in this 1983 adaptation of horror master Stephen King’s novel about a deranged dog. The Trentons — husband Vic, wife Donna and son Tad — seem to be a perfectly happy American family. That is, until we learn that the guilt-ridden Donna is sleeping with creepy family friend Steve. To add to the trouble, car problems bring the family in contact with rural mechanic Joe Camber and his son’s dog Cujo — a once gregarious and lovable St. Bernard who was bitten by a bat and is slowly progressing into rabid insanity. Cujo is compelled to kill anyone in sight, and while we sort of root for him as he takes out Camber’s drunken pal, when Donna and Tad’s car breaks down at the mechanic’s abandoned residence, things turn truly terrifying. Cujo, looking more and more satanic with each attempt to breach their automotive bunker, stalks the panic-stricken mother and child as they attempt to stay sane and conjure an escape. With no special effects or supernatural plot twists, Cujo makes for a realistic scare flick about a family with more than its share of issues.
Top 10 Killer-Animal Movies
Movies have constantly taught us that animals want nothing more than to hurt, devour and take us down. TIME takes a look at cinema's most memorable angry creature flicks.