Silver Bullet

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.

This is a superior Stephen King terror , including the classic horror elements of intrigue , along with gore and grisly killing at the claws of a werewolf . It started in May in a small town Tarker's Mills , it was a place that was very peaceful , where nothing extraordinary ever happened until one night when murders began and every month after that whenever the moon is full , there a railroad worker (James Gammon) meets his gruesome demise at the attacks of a werewolf . As a werewolf terrorizes a small city where lives Marty Coslaw, (Corey Haim) - a paralytic boy , parents (Robin Groves , Leon Russom) his uncle (Gary Busey) and his sister (Megan Fellows) - the narrator of the tale . Our folks take a long time to figure out cues upon werewolf .

This werewolf movie contains chills , thrills, action , suspense and results to be pretty entertaining . From the opening scene to ending terror and intrigue is continued . ¨Silver bullet¨ has everything , ever spooky scene you've ever seen , every horror movie cliché that's ever been overspoken , adding the novelty about a wheel-cheer bounded protagonist . Enjoyable and sympathetic relationship between two brothers nicely played by Corey Haim , as a young handicapped boy, and Megan Fellows as attractive girl as well as the narrator of the story . Special mention to Uncle Red gloriously performed by that underrated actor called Gary Busey as a grumpy but likable person . According director Daniel Attias, Gary Busey ad libbed a great deal, for instance when Uncle Red is in the gun shop , as Attias checked with Stephen King, who said OK for these ad libs to be included . Exciting and eerie final confrontation between our heroes and the hairy werewolf .

This film was rightly based on King's ¨The cycle of werewolf¨ . Stephen King movies adaptations are converting as prolific as his novelettes , from ¨Creepshow¨ along with ¨Cats's eye¨, ¨Silver bullet¨, ¨Maximum overdrive¨ unique directed by King and various TV take on as ¨Rose red¨ , ¨The storm of the century¨ , ¨The stand¨ , ¨Golden years¨ and ¨Langoliers¨ have been numerous his adaptations . The motion picture was well financed by Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis , but he was very unhappy with the werewolf used in the film . The film was compellingly directed by Daniel Attias , though Don Coscarelli was scheduled to direct but left over creative differences with Dino De Laurentiis. Filming lasted in October 1984 and finished slightly before Christmas of the same year . This was Daniel Attias's first and only feature film he directed For the rest of the 1980s to today he mostly directed TV episodes for some famous shows (such as Ray Donovan , The Americans , Crossbones , The Killing , Resurrection , True Blood) and hasn't made another theatrical film. Rating : 6,5/10 . Well worth watching for terror cinema fans and Stephen King buffs . It's an edge-of-your seat winner .

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.

I first saw this movie when I was ten years old, my uncle, a horror fanatic, showed this to me and my brother and it scared the living soul out of me.

Ten years later it still remains as one of my favorite horror films of all time and I consider it one of the best of King's work.

When a small town is being ravaged by horrible mutilations, townsfolks begin to think it may be a monster doing the killings. A small crippled boy comes in contact with the werewolf and confides in his older sister and uncle and they all set out on a search for the monster. What they discover will be shocking.

The film is very well directed and relies a lot on tension and atmosphere and solely on the acting which is performed well by Corey Haim, Megan Follows and Garey Busey who is immensely likable and memorable as the uncle.

The film itself as a horror movie is excellent with a lot of sheer tension and some great horror scenes in which we never see the werewolf until the end. That's an aspect that makes this film truly horrifying and the murders are gruesome and never pulls its punches. The mysterious identity of the werewolf is shocking and it leaves us on pins and needles until the exciting end of the film.

I highly suggest this among horror fans and think it's worth a look.

***half out of **** stars.

As I understand it, the main theme of "Silver Bullet" is the duality of man. The most obvious example is of course the werewolf. Other examples are the sheriff who cedes authority to the vigilante group (calling into question his role as a community leader). The movie also focuses on the issue of imperfection, whether physical (Marty's paraplegia) or moral (Red's irresponsible lifestyle).

Of course, it's hard to concentrate on any of that while watching the movie. The viewer just wants to see the lycanthrope do its stuff. I certainly enjoyed it.

Director Dan Attias more recently has directed several episodes of TV shows, among them "Six Feet Under", while Don Coscarelli (who was attached to direct early on), directed the cult flick "Bubba Ho-Tep".