Miedo azul

Silver Bullet (1985)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

I know An American Werewolf in London and The Howling usually get all the praise but for my money this is the best werewolf film of the 1980s. I thought everyone loved this film until getting the internet and reading how many people actually didn't enjoy it but I still love it. I think the film works well as a coming of age story with all the horror elements thrown in for good measure. Kinda like a horror version of The Goonies with Corey Haim and Gary Busey doing great work together. The supporting cast of actors also serve well in the story. The scene in the fog and the ending are full of wonderful tension as well.

Silver Bullet is my favorite of Steven King's horror adaptations (yes, I do like this better than The Shining) . King even penned the screenplay himself (from his short story 'The Cycle of the Werewolf'), but since he was also responsible for the awful Maximum Overdrive, that's no solid proof of quality. But it a damn cool movie.

What makes it so different and unique is that it's horror movie told from a child's perspective (though I admit that the retrospective narration seems out of place) and has a brother/sister dynamic that's quite cute and makes you really care for the characters.

Corey Haim plays Marty Coslaw, a young boy who is confined to a wheelchair for reasons unknown. His older sister Jane is forced to take care of him and throws tantrums whenever the mum and dad take Marty's side (which is always). But the chair doesn't stop Marty from being mischievous. Especially when his manic, reckless Uncle Red (a fat Gary Busey-absolutely brilliant, as always) builds him a motorized wheelchair/bike called the Silver Bullet.

There is killer in their small town who strikes every month when the moon is full. The townsfolk gradually become more and more weary as autumn rolls on and Marty takes a personal offence when his best friend is murdered, his best girl is run out of town and a fireworks display is cancelled. Then he witnesses what the killer really is. But who is going to believe a kid's story of a werewolf? Despite the red-herrings, it's easy to figure out who it is before the main revelation. But it's still a fun mystery.

Filmed with the little-used JDC-Scope process, Silver Bullet has brilliant cinematography by Armando Nannuzzi and a wonderful score by Jay Chattaway. There's not much horror to it, but I don't think it was ever the intention to dwell on the violence. Even though I would call this film suitable for kids (despite the 18/R-rating) it's still way better than the PG-13 junk we get these days.

The film is also notable for Everett McGill (so evil as the baddie in Under Siege 2), an under-rated and under-used actor in a typically eccentric role as a charismatic Reverend. Doesn't he look like a cross between Christopher Reeve and David Hasselhoff?

A perfect Halloween movie or any night with the curtains drawn and lights off.

Stephen King's Silver Bullet is one of the most charming werewolf flicks in the stable, one that combines adult orientated, gory horror with the fable-esque, childlike sensibility that seems to permeate King's work. It's also quite funny, thanks to the presence of a boisterous, rotund and quite young Gary Busey. Young Marty (Corey Haim) lives in a sleepy little town where not much of anything happens, until a rash of brutal murders occur in the area. Attributed to a serial killer by townsfolk, Marty has other ideas, specifically that a werewolf has taken up residence among them, and is snatching victims in the night. Taken seriously only by his sister (Megan Follows) and kindly Uncle Red (Busey) he bravely stalks suspect number one, who happens to be the creepy town priest (an intimidating Everett Mcgill). Things escalate into a series of gooey, effects driven set pieces that drip with wonderful 80's schlock and awe, as of course is the tradition with anything based on King's work. Other notables include Terry O Quinn, Bill Smitrovitch, Lawrence Tierney, King's own son Joe Wright, and late great character actor James Gammon in an opening sequence cameo. It's not all that scary, but more about the beloved tropes of such stories as these, the timeless monsters that inhabit them, as well the the intrepid young heroes whose lives growing up and finding themselves equally as important and high stakes as the horror elements.

Although there are many reasons why this film is a far cry from excellence, Silver Bullet is, at the very least, very entertaining. The film chronicles how a werewolf has been killing off various people in a small town. A young boy in a wheelchair discovers who the werewolf is, and then must prepare with his sister and crazy, dead-beat uncle to meet the wolfman when the moon is full on a Halloween evening. The film's plot really tests your suspension of disbelief, but the characters, the acting, and the direction are all done in a very likable style with a generous dose of humour. Corey Haim plays the youth very nicely, as he rides up and down the streets in a souped-up wheelchair(?). Gary Busey gives a fine performance as his uncle. The killings are fairly brutal, and the special effects are not too bad. The film is a lot of fun, and even though you will know who is the wolfman long before you should know....the film zips along with an energetic, entertaining pace.

I was about to turn off the TV as opening titles rolled for Silver Bullet and I saw the "Cycle of the Werewolf" reference, as I really don't care much for fantasy monsters at all. This being a Stephen King, though, I thought I'd give it a look. I'm glad I did.

The difference between this and the standard, cookie-cutter, grade-B monster/werewolf/e-mail-spammer horror flick could be a tutorial for playwrights, screenwriters and cinematographers. Instead of the tired horror-flick plot - monster terrorizes small town after killing some folks (usually with heavy-handed special-effects gore, repeated frequently throughout); populace panics and does a lot of stupid things; standard-issue hero arrives; standard-issue sexy young heroine falls in love with him and the movie ends with the standard-issue hero dispatching the monster moments before monster is about to make standard-issue heroine his/her/its next victim - this one deftly draws on strong theatrical principles and creativity to make the viewing real entertainment.

The young protagonist, who could be a paraplegic edition of ELL-LEE-YUHHT from E.T., his mid-teenage sister, which character, as an adult, opens the story with off-camera narrative (by Tovah Feldshuh), and an equally-charming third kid, who happens to be the boy's uncle and is chronologically but in no other respect an adult, endearingly played by Gary Busey, are developed skilfully as characters in their own right, entirely apart from the werewolf theme. By making us know and care about them, as well as the lesser characters, King creates a warm and personal relationship between them and the audience, something rarely achieved in standard horror/suspense fare. Busey is just right as the uncle who finds responsibility to be rather an impediment to enjoying life.

Injecting just the right touch of comedy where you'd least expect it and making it work - to avoid spoiling, I'll just say something about the woods at night and a bunch of people who don't belong there - a few red herrings to keep you guessing, and one broad clue to the identity of the werewolf that the sharp-eyed and -eared might catch but is otherwise not at all tipping a hand, all combine to hold the interest and attention of the viewer. The knitting-together of various threads - the significance of the monster's attack on the suicidal woman, for one - creates a certain intricacy that typical monster-flick shows rarely have.

Some blood and gore is unavoidable in a story like this; but again, it's handled with skill and delicacy instead of blunt force. The attack scenes are crafted to use the viewer's imagination much more than the special-effects department to create the impression. Watch carefully and you'll notice that the illusion is created by alternating very brief flashes of action streaking by the lens, almost too fast to discern, with establishing shots of the victim's accumulating injuries, with the audio gluing it all together. A few frames of the monster's snout or eyes moving past, a claw (or later on, a club or baseball bat) streaking by, but not not visibly headed for any particular target, horrified looks and increasing amounts of blood from the victim who may get tossed across the room or otherwise propelled violently but you never see the propelling directly, and your imagination does the rest.

It's not the masterpiece of the ages; but it's a film to enjoy once, and then, if you're into the theatrical arts at all, see again - for study.