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DOGS VS. CATS: A Serious Look At Housepet Horror Movie Villains

Horror films have a certain knack for taking the mundane aspects of every day life and turning them against us. We’ve seen cars turn on their owners, the electricity in a home gain sentience and attack, and even video tape wreak havoc on unsuspecting viewers. So it should come as no surprise that family pets have become a horror film villain staple. We’ve seen all sorts of domesticated animals turn bad and go for the jugular; even the usually boring and inactive farmland sheep have gotten their bloody revenge!

Portrayed most often as vicious turncoats, however, are the very cherished pets that so many of us have lounging on our sofas even now. The most common of household animals are the ones quickest to take us down: our dogs and cats. But which pet gets in more digs? Take a look and see which species rules the horror roost, as we pit them against one another in the ultimate challenge: Dogs vs. Cats: Horror Villains.

First up for the cats is... Church the Undead, from Pet Semetary



In this film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, family pet Church falls victim to a pasng truck and is put to rest in a cursed Native American burial ground, bringing him back to life with a few... changes. A little bit smelly and a little bit vicious, Church’s once friendly personality has evolved into that of... well, a cat. Some hisng, small animal massacres, and scratching by the revived Church are definitely a change from the more congenial Church in life, but this new dickish behavior is really just more indicative of a cat being a cat. Here kitty kitty!

For the dogs... The Dog, Devil Dog: Hound of Hell



After the loss of the family pet, the Barry family buys a new pup from a roadde vendor, never knowing that the seemingly kindly vendor is a Satanist, and their new puppy is one of the devil’s own four-legged minions. While the rest of the family is thrilled with their new pet, the patriarch, played by Richard Crenna, notices something just a slight bit off about the dog. It soon becomes apparent that Satan’s best friend can control the minds of anyone it chooses, caung them to do harm to themselves and to others. One by one, the hellhound takes over the family’s souls, all the while wearing a very stylish wig.

For the cat’s de... 1000 Hungry Felines, The Night of a Thousand Cats

It sounds like the setup for a soap opera at first; a wealthy playboy spends his days and nights seducing beautiful women and bringing them back to his opulent home. That’s when things take a dark turn. As it happens, rich Hugo is more interested in finding inventive ways to killing his beauties than anything else, and adding their pretty faces to his collection. The rest of the bodies are pulverized and fed to his small feline army, a bloodthirsty gang held at a fenced-in enclosure. hen one of his intended trophies makes an escape, Hugo is left to deal with the released mob of hungry felines, with predictable consequences. Om nom nom!

On the dog’s team... Max, from Man’s Best Friend



When a reporter looking for inde information on animal testing begins to investigate EMAX labs, she gets a lot more than she bargained for. Ally Sheedy stars in this film as the reporter, Lori, who takes in escaped lab animal Max, a seemingly lovable Tibetan Mastiff that had been subject of genetic therapy experimentation at EMAX. It soon becomes apparent that Max is much more than he seems. Smart enough to open doors and flush toilets, able to climb trees, and viciously protective of Lori, Max will tear apart anyone who gets in his way. This tale warning of mesng with the nature of genetics and condemning animal research ends on a sad note, with the unfortunate animal loyal to his rescuer until the end.

One more for the cats... The Cat from Hell, Tales From the Darkde



In this horror vignette adapted by George Romero from a Stephen King story, a hitman takes on the case of a seemingly neurotic wealthy old man who wants a cat eliminated. Rich on pharmaceutical proceeds gained from the torturous vivisection deaths of five thousand cats (perhaps some of Hugo’s leftovers?), the old man, Drogan, seeks to escape his punishment by the evil cat through putting a price on its head. The hitman takes the job, assuming Drogan to be a fool, but soon learns that the tales of the cat’s growing body count were all true. The vignette culminates in the unfortunate hitman being gruesomely clawed to death from the inde out. Guess the cat really got his tongue!

Last up for the dogs...

Cujo the St Bernard, from Stephen King’s Cujo

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Our old pal Steve is back with one more killer creature, this time in the form of a masve St Bernard named Cujo. The friendly pet falls victim to the bite of a rabid animal, and as the disease turns him viciously insane, he attacks and kills anyone who crosses his path. Enter the hapless Donna, played by horror film vet Dee Wallace, and her young son Tad (Danny Pintauro), and the film develops into a battle of wits and brute force. The horrifying spectre of the masve animal relentlessly attacking the mother and son is burned into the psyche of horror film fans everywhere. Cujo is clearly the grand master of horror film animals everywhere.

So which de wins? It’s all a matter of what scares you more. Big bad dogs with fangs and intelligence are a force to be reckoned with, but so is a cat who will dive down your throat and claw its way into your gullet - from the inde! Whichever worries you more, always remember: they are both everywhere. Keep on eye on your neighbor’s new pup, and watch out for the stray cats on your block. You never know when they might turn on you!
dew Wednesday 2/29/2012 at 04:27 PM | 90928
I can barely remember a tv movie called Strays I saw when I was a kid but I'm almost sure it some killer cats.
DoubleshotJ Wednesday 2/29/2012 at 05:14 PM | 90932