Cujo

 

A nice dog gets bit by a rabid bat and turns into a not so nice dog. Well I coulda guessed that, his name is Cujo! Oh, this movie/book established that name as the evil dog standard, oops. The movie has a sort of modern independent horror feel because most of it is a mother and her toddler stuck in a Pinto as they are terrorized by the dog. The kid is a really good actor too - instead of that cliche "mommy I'm scared" sorta thing he is just screaming and hysterical the whole time. Once I was nannying a kid and I heard a woman screaming for help so we walked over and a dog had chased her up on top of a car. Dogs are scary! But I probably shouldn't have walked over to help a screaming woman while holding a three year old even though everybody was ok in the end. Anyway even though he's a murderer you gotta feel bad for Cujo - it's not his fault his owners didn't get him a rabies shot after he got bit by a bat. 

RATING: 71%

The Shining

Creepshow

Cat's Eye

This is an anthology of Stephen King shorts, adapted by King himself, that maybe is more Twilight Zone than true horror. Anyway, the first one is about a dude who hires a company to torture his family if he doesn't quit smoking (um divorce city?), the second segment is a fantastic short about a gambling dude who forces a tennis player to walk around the ledge of the twentieth floor, and the third segment a cat fights a troll for Drew Barrymore's soul (bad but good creature effects I guess). Anyway, it's a good PG13 horror movie to catch late at night on TBS or something.

RATING: 60% (82% for the second part alone)

Alligator

Alligator is way better than it has any right to be. An unapologetic, low-budget, Jaws rip-off that manages to find the perfect balance of schlock and awe. The titular alligator even looks surprisingly good, thanks to the mixture of practical special effects with old timey forced perspective shots. The plot of Alligator is pretty standard for this type of movie: our hero, Robert Forster playing a balding cop, teams up with a sexy redheaded reptile expert to find and stop the renegade gator (renegator?) before it's too late. Throw in Henry Silva as a whacked out big game hunter, a subplot involving a shady chemical company, sleazy reporters, a big wedding, and some kids getting killed at a birthday party and you've got yourself one heck of a movie.

Rating: 89%

(image from impawards.com)