Silver Bullet (1985)

Simply Perfect

Memorable, crazy movie

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Definitely goes in the criterion collection of best werewolf movies. King's amazing book brought to life yet again. The priest is so convincing as someone struggling with a beast inside him (perhaps a precursor to actual problems priests would have in later decades with internal monsters?..). And Corey crushes this role as the sweet boy in the wheelchair. - RIP.

"Silver Bullet" is an adaptation of a novella by horror meister Stephen King. King also wrote the screenplay for this film. And, it's a werewolf movie to boot.In the sleepy little town of Tarker's Mills where nothing ever happens, grisly murders begin to take place. First a railway worker is literally loses his head. Next a distraught but pregnant young girl Tammy Sturmfuller (Heather Simmons) is brutally murdered. Thirdly a young boy Brady Kincaid (Joe Wright) becomes the next victim. Brady was the playmate of Marty Coslow (Corey Haim) with whom teased Marty's sister Jane (Megan Follows) only hours before.The townspeople become alarmed. They believe the murderer to be some sort of madman however. Marty has reason to believe that the murderer is a werewolf. The townspeople form under Andy Fairton (Bill Smitrovich) and the dead boy's father Herb (Kent Broadhurst), a group that goes out into the night in search of the killer. They find him. Three of the searchers are murdered in the fog. Reverend Lowe (Everett McGill) and Sheriff Haller (Terry O'Quinn) try to calm the folks down.Marty, who is crippled and rides a souped up wheelchair built by his carefree uncle Red (Gary Busey) continues to believe in the werewolf theory. One night while setting off fireworks in an isolated spot, Marty is attacked by the werewolf but manages to put out his eye with a rocket (if you can believe it). Jane now convinced of the existence of the werewolf, searches for a man with an eye patch while collecting bottles for a bottle drive run by the local church. She finds him and.................................The identity of the werewolf is not hard to pick out even though his identity is revealed half way through the film. The real terror comes when he stalks young Marty. There is a fitting climax to the proceedings complete with a silver bullet.Lot's of blood and gore including a decapitation however, the actual murders are not seen, only the aftermaths. Still, its a scary movie.You have to wonder how the werewolf was initially infected, given that the murders suddenly materialize in the quiet little town without warning.

Silver Bullet may be based on King's Cycle of the Werewolf, but there are so many deviations and changes from the story, one could say that they're both stories about a werewolf in a small town and get away with it. It's probably best to experience both of them, as they cover some of the same story but differ in so many ways. Perhaps you can pretend that it's the werewolf version of Rashomon.Tarker's Mill, Maine. 1976. The Coslaw family is a mess, to be perfectly honest. Jane wants to get away. Marty (Corey Ham, The Lost Boys) fights with her and is dealing with being a paraplegic. And the parents, Nan and Bob, are always at odds.Things change once murder tears apart their town, starting with a railroad worker (James Gammon, the coach from Major League). Then, a depressed pregnant woman and Milt Sturmfuller are both killed and people start to worry. Once Billy Kinkaid is killed flying his kite (PS never fly a kite in a Stephen King story, witness Pet Semetary), the townspeople lose their minds.Despite Sheriff Joe Haller (Terry O'Quinn, The Stepfather!) and Reverend Lester Lowe (Big Ed Hurley from Twin Peaks) trying to calm everyone down, a mob goes into the woods to stop the killer. That said — the tables get turned and many of them die, including Owen the bartender (Laurence Tierney, a noted real life maniac who was in Reservoir Dogs and Film Threat's filmed version of the Tube Bar Red tapes).That Reverend isn't on the level though, as he dreams of a mass funeral where everyone turns into a wolf. He wakes up and begs God to stop the pain.The town may cancel the fireworks, but when Uncle Red (also another real life manic, Gary Busey) visits, he gives Marty a wheelchair/motorcycle he calls the "Silver Bullet" that can shoot rockets. The werewolf almost kills him later that evening, but he blasts it in the left eye. He soon realizes that the werewolf and the Reverend are the same person, so he begins mailing him anonymous notes saying that he should kill himself.Read more at bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/10/06/stephen-king-week-silver-bullet-1985/

A werewolf terrorizes a small town, so a young boy (Corey Haim) in a motorized wheelchair teams up with his older sister (Megan Follows) and eccentric uncle (Gary Busey) to figure out who it is and put a stop to the killings. One of my favorite movies as a kid that still holds up nicely today. Stephen King, adapting his own novella Cycle of the Werewolf, wrote the screenplay. It's a character-driven horror story that works so well for that very reason. You really care about these people and are more invested in what happens to them than in many other horror movies where the monster/killer is given priority. Corey Haim does a great job, as does Gary Busey years before he went insane. But the real star of the movie to the lovestruck kid in me is Megan Follows, my most memorable childhood crush. Even if the rest of the movie wasn't great (it is), I would have watched it over and over just for her. The rest of the cast includes such fine actors as Everett McGill, Bill Smitrovich, Terry O'Quinn, and Lawrence Tierney. As I said, I loved the movie as a kid. As an adult, I still enjoy it a lot even though I recognize its flaws more now. It's low-key horror but it has likable characters, good dialogue, and some nice suspense. No, the werewolf doesn't match up to the stuff Rick Baker or Rob Bottin did a few years earlier, but it's not terrible for a guy in a suit. It's a great movie, in my opinion, that deserves inclusion in the discussion of 'best werewolf movies.'