Peur bleue

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.

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".

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.

Film adaptation of Stephen Kings' "novelette" "Cycle of the Werewolf", scripted by the author himself, gets some things right, and is fun enough, and appealing enough, no matter if it can't compare to werewolf classics like "The Wolf Man" (1941) and "An American Werewolf in London".

Likable Corey Haim is Marty Coslaw, a paraplegic who manages to learn the human identity of the monster stalking his peaceful small town during the summer and fall of 1976. With the eventual help of his sister Jane (Megan Follows) and colourful, wild man uncle Red (the perfectly cast Gary Busey), he hopes to end the nightmare.

The only feature directorial credit for TV veteran Daniel Attias (who was an assistant director on movies such as "One from the Heart" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"), it very nicely captures a small towns' ambiance during different seasons, and also has some fairly good suspense and atmosphere. There are some good touches here and there, especially when Jane learns who the werewolf is; during this scene her face is half in shadow and the effect is spooky. Fine music by Jay Chattaway helps, as well as more than a few laughs, largely supplied by the flamboyant Busey, who delivers some pretty priceless quips. (I could quote the best one here, but it would give away a crucial revelation.)

Both Haim and Follows are completely believable, and the supporting cast features a couple of familiar faces: Terry O'Quinn ('Lost', "The Stepfather" '87) as the ineffective local sheriff, Bill Smitrovich ('Life Goes On') as hostile loudmouth Andy Fairton, Robin Groves ("The Nesting") as Marty and Janes' mother, James Gammon ("The Cell", "Major League") as drunk and obligatory initial victim Arnie Westrum, legendary tough guy Lawrence Tierney ("Dillinger" '45) as bar owner Owen Knopfler, and William Newman ("Squirm", "Monkey Shines") as service station owner Virgil Cuts. Everett McGill is particularly fine as the Reverend.

Only the creature effects, overseen by Carlo Rambaldi, disappoint. Some transformation shots are good but the final incarnation of the werewolf just isn't that impressive, and doesn't inspire that much terror. One major set piece wherein just about everybody in a congregation metamorphoses IS rather amusing.

In any event, despite any flaws, "Silver Bullet" manages to entertain reasonably well, although it gets too syrupy by the end. Still worth seeing for werewolf cinema completists.

Seven out of 10.

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 .