Stephen King Reveals Sequel To One Of His Darkest Classics
A new collection of short stories by Stephen King will feature a sequel to the acclaimed author’s 1981 novel Cujo. Titled “Rattlesnakes,” the story follows a grieving widower who travels to Florida for respite.
Instead, he receives an unexpected inheritance with some significant strings attached. The sequel is one of 12 stories included in the collection called You Like It Darker, which is set for release on May 21, 2024.
Stephen King‘s Rattlesnakes
Per Entertainment Weekly, an excerpt from Stephen King’s “Rattlesnakes” reads as follows.”I wasn’t surprised when I saw the elderly woman pushing the double stroller with the empty seats, I had been forewarned.
This was on Rattlesnake Road, which winds the four-mile length of Rattlesnake Key on the Florida Gulf Coast. Houses and condos to the south, a few McMansions at the North end.”
“There’s a blind curve half a mile from Greg Ackerman’s McMansion, where I was staying that summer, bouncing around like the last pea in an oversized can. Tangled undergrowth higher than my head (and I’m six-four) flanked the road, seeming to press in and make what was narrow, to begin with, even narrower,” the excerpt from the Stephen King story continued.
You Like It Darker By Stephen King
Other stories in You Like It Darker by Stephen King are a mix of new and previously published stories.
They include “Two Talented Bastids,” “The Fifth Step,” “Willie the Weirdo,” “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” “Finn,” “On Slide Inn Road,” “Red Screen,” “The Turbulence Expert,” “Laurie,” “The Dreamers,” and “The Answer Man.”
Cujo Sequel
Cujo fans will be excited by the upcoming sequel, given the popularity of the 1981 horror novel.
The story is set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, a common setting for many of Stephen King’s works. There a once-friendly Saint Bernard named Cujo turns into a violent and terrifying creature after being bitten by a rabid bat.
The Cujo Original Story
The Stephen King-penned story primarily focuses on two families – the Trentons and the Cambers. Vic and Donna Trenton are a married couple who are experiencing difficulties in their relationship, while the Camber family owns Cujo.
As the dog’s condition deteriorates, he becomes a relentless killer, terrorizing the small town and its inhabitants.
Cujo is a chilling and intense psychological thriller that also delves into themes of domestic tension, the breakdown of relationships, and the impact of a seemingly ordinary event like a dog bite on the lives of the characters involved.
The story is often considered one of Stephen King’s more straightforward suspense novels.
The Cujo Film Adaptation
In 1983, Cujo was adapted into a film directed by Lewis Teague, which brought the horrifying Stephen King tale to the big screen. The movie received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised the suspenseful, intense story and the dog’s menacing performance.
Cujo also performed well at the box office, earning over $21 million domestically.
The film’s success was partly attributed to the well-trained St. Bernards used to play Cujo in different scenes. Still, the biggest challenge was ensuring the safety of the cast and crew during scenes involving the aggressive dogs.
Special effects and editing techniques were used to create the illusion of danger without putting anyone at risk.
Differences From The Book
Dee Wallace, who played the lead character Donna Trenton in the adaptation of the Stephen King novel, was hailed for her convincing and emotional performance as a mother struggling to protect her child from the rabid dog.
However, the film differs from the novel in some aspects. While the book has a more complex narrative, the movie focuses more on the suspense and horror elements.
Cujo remains a classic work in Stephen King’s bibliography and is well-regarded by fans of horror literature. The movie has also cemented its place in the horror film genre, becoming a cult classic over the years.
