Stephen King's Silver Bullet
Starring: Gary Busey, Corey Haim, Megan Follows
Directed by: Daniel Attias
****Spoilers****
The story takes place in Tarker's Mills, Maine, where a long reign of terror begins when a railroad worker gets his head bitch-slapped straight off by a bear-dog looking werewolf. The townsfolk, obviously unbeknownst to folk-lore, pay no mind to the animalistic howl that pierces the night, and pass his death off as a drunken accident. After the murders start to pile up, locals believe they have a full moon serial killer on their hands. In the midst of an inept two-manned police force, and an alcohol-fueled lynch mob performing fruitless tasks in providing safety for their once quiet town, a young paraplegic boy named Marty takes on the role of 'badass'. Already hip on the knowledge that the murders are of lycanthropic nature, our hero decides to clue his Uncle and older sister in on the werewolf theory, in the hopes that they'll help eradicate the furry bastard and make Tarker's Mills safe once again.
This is probably another one of those movies I'd consider not necessarily good from a technical film-making standpoint, but epic, in terms of nostalgia. Silver Bullet was the first R rated horror film I grew enough balls to watch, after being terrified for a straight year of A Nightmare on Elm Street, before ever even knowing what it was about. I was roughly eight years old when Freddy made his HBO premiere, and made the idiotic mistake of leaving my bedroom door open, while my older sister watched the film rather loudly in the living room. Too afraid to come out from under my covers and close the door, I hid under my sheets and pillow, unable to sleep or block out what seemed like 90 minutes of full on screaming and anguish. So yeah, it took a long time to watch anything more daring than The Neverending Story, and my first choice into R-rated horror film bravery was Silver Bullet.
The film is based on a vignette calendar-turned novella written by Stephen King and illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, and like any book to film adaptation, there are differences that usually leave an audience largely divided. While the novella keeps mostly to a serious and dark tone, the movie comes off charming and intentionally funny, due to awesome performances from the cast, and setting. However, one perspective that was probably unintentionally amusing is the hokey-ass looking werewolf. Like mentioned above, it's a bear-dog, or perhaps more appropriate, it's the Un-inside-out version of Inside-out Bear from cult classic, Prophecy: The Monster Movie.
-Comparison-
I won't reveal the werewolf's human identity, out of respect to the two or three beings in the Universe whom have not seen the movie, but I will say that it does not take rocket science to figure it out with quick precision. We are never given an explanation of how or when he became a lycanthrope; he just simply is. This is also vague in the novella, though, there is a slight hint as to how it happened. It should be noted that the actor played most of both parts, after a hired dancer gave a poor performance (according to Dino de Laurentiis) and was relieved of his duties beneath the wolf suit.
The time frame in the novella is different from the film, as well. Cycle of the Werewolf spans a full year, showcasing the werewolf making a kill at the light of every full moon. In Silver Bullet, the rampage lasts over the course of maybe half that time (give or take a few months). Moreover, there is at least one murder while the moon isn't full, leaving you to believe, and as Marty and his sister propose: As the moon gets fuller, the guy gets wolfier.
Acting is pretty solid, and lots of familiar faces are about. Gary Busey is the absolute show stealer, as Red, Marty's drunkard, down on his luck Uncle. Busey gives a heavy amount of comic relief (quote: “Holy jumped up bald-headed Jesus Palamino!”), and has a strong heart towards his nephew, creating him a motorized wheelchair aptly titled - "The Silver Bullet". Corey Haim was a great child actor, and it's really disappointing how things turned out. His career from the 80's is the best way to remember him. Megan Follows (perhaps best known for Anne of Green Gables) plays Jane, Marty's older sister, and the two of them work really well together displaying their struggling brother/sister relationship. Other solid performances come from Everett McGill (from Wes Craven's People Under the Stairs), portraying Reverend Lowe, and Terry O'Quinn (The Stepfather, Lost), as the town sheriff.
While the werewolf suit is mostly ridiculous (though, I won't lie... Werewolf, Werebeardog, Were-what-the-fuck-ever... I would shit myself in a confrontation!) the film's FX as a whole, aren't all bad. There are quite a few kills, and one that takes place early on is pretty damn disturbing. The film's opener is impressive, with the beheading of the railroad worker. His noggin goes flying across the screen in a fantastic slo-mo sequence, Conan the Barbarian style! The transformations of our monster are traditional, protruding snout type stuff; it's the reverse transformation that I found rather brilliant.
Directorial duties were initially assigned to Don Coscarelli (Phantasm series, Beastmaster, Bubba Ho-Tep), but due to circumstances regarding the film's well-being, he dipped out, and Daniel Attias took over. There's not a lot of anything other than basic film-making here, but there are some standout moments. He has the appearance of a small, 'everybody-knows-everybody' town completely on point, and he really nails it in a few of the intense moments. There's a chase scene that ultimately places Marty stuck and out of gas in an abandoned covered road bridge, and it's highly effective, as is the finale. Attias does just fine, but a Coscarelli fan can't help but wonder what this could have turned out to be.
I'm also a sucker for the 80's synth soundtracks, and this one my friends, lays the cheese on thick! The main theme is like a mix of Karate Kid and E.T., and it's played solemnly when the movie is being emo, and happily when the good times are rollin' (such as when Marty is trying out his new Monster-trucked version of the Silver Bullet 3-wheeler)! There's also a menacing, low-bass ditty that cues in every time the werewolf is about to tear shit to pieces. Love it!
So, if you haven't seen Silver Bullet, hurry the hell up, so you can determine if it's too silly for its own good, or an 80's gem that slipped by. For me, it's a great piece of cinema that brings me back to my childhood. Perhaps I hold it in higher regard because of this, but I am in no way ashamed of that.
