Peur bleue

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.

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.

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.