Silver Bullet

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.

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.

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.

Werewolfs and Stephen King; sounds like a combination that can't miss! While "Silver Bullet" does have it's moments it's still a few yards shy of being a bona-fide genre favorite.

The opening is magnificent; here's where the film's narration actually works. A grotesque opening sequence sets the tone perfectly and we're into one of those typical Stephen King small towns where great horror lies just beneath the picture pretty surface of the idyllic small town.

Well, everybody knows the story here; a werewolf is terrorizing the town.

While Corey Haim was a likable performer in his younger years, the decision to rest the film on the shoulders of two kids does diminish the film's scary potential. The set-pieces here are pretty good though, with that scene on the bridge with Haim lighting fireworks on the bridge; I remember that scene from when I was a kid.

"Silver Bullet", while displaying striking individual scenes gets somewhat bogged down when focusing on the kids here, giving them silly dialogue and rather campy scenes. Plus that narration gets very corny and irritating after the initial scene.

Gary Busey, always a likable actor, gives a one-note performance here as Haim's well meaning, but rather child-like alcoholic, uncle. That said, quality actors on board here with Everett McGill stealing the show as the town priest.

But all in all, "Silver Bullet" is a classic in the werewolf genre. I still prefer, say "The Howling" to this one, but I remembered it scared me silly when I was a kid and that fog bound search midway through is still atmospheric and somewhat scary. It's a no-brainer for horror buffs.