Where was Cujo filmed?

For Vic Trenton, life ain’t going all that great. His wife has had an affair, and following a disastrous advertising campaign, his ad agency is in almost as much trouble as his marriage. And when it rains it pours, as a frustrated Vic can’t even manage to fix Donna’s troublesome car, while a devastated Tad struggles to come to terms with the fact that his dad is leaving town on a business trip.

Vic manages to reassure his son that all will be okay while he’s gone, and plans to take the car to Joe Camber’s for the mechanic to work on it. But as Vic hops in his car and prepares to leave for his business trip, he mentions to Donna that he forgot to take the car to Joe. “I’ll take care of it,” she mutters as Vic drives away. If only Donna knew what was lying in wait for her out at the Camber house!

The facade of the Trenton family home, with its spectacular ocean views, was built around a home at 44777 Crestwood Drive in Mendocino. You can find it about 100 miles northwest of Santa Rosa. Interestingly, many interior scenes in the Trenton home were shot at a different home, which itself is found at 3415 Nielsen Road, Santa Rosa.

The first 40-odd minutes of Cujo is something of a slow burn. As the tension builds and Cujo’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, the audience is just waiting for the massive dog to snap. That eventually happens in spectacular fashion, and the Cambers’ neighbor Gary Pervier is the unfortunate soul on the receiving end of Cujo’s rage.

As he empties garbage onto a trash pile, Gary is clearly unsettled to hear a menacing growl coming from the shadows. He eyes Cujo nervously, realizing that something is not quite right with his neighbors’ dog. “Cujo, what are you growling at?” he asks suspiciously, then decides to make a run for it.

The terrified man flees, but tripping on his porch he’s set upon by the hulking, vicious dog. A desperate struggle ensues, and Gary eventually throws Cujo off and runs inside his house. “You are dead, you stupid son of a bitch,” Gary growls, frantically trying to load his shotgun. But he’s too slow, and Cujo breaks through a window and mauls him to death in grisly, gruesome scenes.

Want to know where these memorable Cujo action scenes were filmed? You can find Gary’s house at 7301 Sonoma Mountain Road in Glen Ellen, California. It’s about 12 miles southeast of Santa Rosa, and you’ll need to be willing to tackle quite a narrow, winding road to get there.

With Vic out of town trying to save his business, Donna and Tad are left to fend for themselves. So when Donna’s ailing Ford Pinto starts to show signs of giving up the ghost, she and Tad drive out to the secluded Camber residence to see whether Joe can fix it. Little do they know, however, that Cujo’s murderous rampage has already begun.

The car dies just as the mother and son arrive at the farm, and Donna tells Tad they’ve arrived. “Yeah, but is anybody home?” the boy asks innocently. It’s a fair question, as the place seems completely deserted, with both Joe and Gary already killed by Cujo.

Donna hops out of the car but Tad’s seatbelt is stuck. So, oblivious to the approaching danger, Donna sits back in the car and struggles to release the belt. But just when the camera angle makes it seem like Cujo is sneaking up behind her, the rabid dog instead leaps up in front of her at Tad’s open window.

The bloodied dog is foaming at the mouth, barking and growling, just inches away from Tad, and Donna frantically winds the window up to keep the dog at bay. But with Cujo prowling outside and the car refusing to start, Donna and her terrified son are now trapped.

The Camber family farm is at Scott Ranch, on D Street in Petaluma. You’ll find it about 20 miles south of Santa Rosa, quite close to Helen Putnam Regional Park.