Silver Bullet (1985)

Director:

Daniel Attias

Writers:

Stephen King (novel)
Stephen King

Release Date:

11 October 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

It started in May in a small town and every month after that whenever the moon is full... It came back.

Plot:

Werewolf terrorizes small city where lives Marty Coslaw, - a paralytic boy - his uncle and his sister - the narrator of the story.

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Murder | Handicapped Boy | Wheelchair | Firework

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gary Busey	...	Uncle Red
Everett McGill	...	Reverend Lowe
Corey Haim	...	Marty Coslaw
Megan Follows	...	Jane Coslaw
Robin Groves	...	Nan Coslaw
Leon Russom	...	Bob Coslaw
Terry O'Quinn	...	Sheriff Joe Haller
Bill Smitrovich	...	Andy Fairton
Joe Wright	...	Brady Kincaid
Kent Broadhurst	...	Herb Kincaid
Heather Simmons	...	Tammy Sturmfuller
James A. Baffico	...	Milt Sturmfuller
Rebecca Fleming	...	Mrs. Sturmfuller
Lawrence Tierney	...	Owen Knopfler
William Newman	...	Virgil Cuts
Sam Stoneburner	...	Mayor O'Banion
Lonnie Moore	...	Billy McLaren
Rick Pasotto	...	Aspinall
Cassidy Eckert	...	Girl
Wendy Walker	...	Stella Randolph
Michael Lague	...	Stella's Boyfriend
Myra Mailloux	...	Stella's Mother
William Brown	...	Bobby Robertson (as W.H. Brown)
Herb Harton	...	Elmer Zinneman
David Hart	...	Pete Sylvester
Graham Smith	...	Porter Zinneman
Paul Butler	...	Edgar Rounds
Crystal Field	...	Maggie Andrews
Julius LeFlore	...	Smokey
Roxanne Aalam	...	Uncle Red's Girl
Pearl Jones	...	Mrs. Thayer
Ish Jones Jr.	...	Mr. Thayer
Steven White	...	Outfielder
Conrad McLaren	...	Mac
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Older Jane (voice)
James Gammon	...	Arnie Westrum

Directed by
Daniel Attias

Writing credits
Stephen King		(novella "Cycle of the Werewolf")
Stephen King

Produced by
Dino De Laurentiis	....	producer
Martha De Laurentiis	....	producer (as Martha Schumacher)

Original Music by
Jay Chattaway

Cinematography by
Armando Nannuzzi

Film Editing by
Daniel Loewenthal

Casting by
Jeremy Ritzer

Production Design by
Giorgio Postiglione

Costume Design by
Clifford Capone

Makeup Department
Barbara Page	....	key makeup artist
Jeff Goodwin	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
John M. Eckert	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John T. Kretchmer	....	assistant director
Bruce Moriarty	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Keith Darwin	....	scenic
Carlo Postiglione	....	props
Jeffrey Schlatter	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Bryce Goodman	....	sound mixer
Dan Lieberstein	....	supervising sound editor
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Jeff Jarvis	....	special effects coordinator
Michael McCracken	....	special effects makeup supervisor
Michael Shawn McCracken	....	special effects makeup artist (as Michael McCracken Jr.)
Matthew W. Mungle	....	special effects makeup artist
Francesco Paolocci	....	werewolf suit creator
Gaetano Paolocci	....	werewolf suit creator
Carlo Rambaldi	....	werewolf suit creator
Jill Rockow	....	special effects makeup artist
Michael Stein	....	special effects makeup artist

Visual Effects by
Rick Baker	....	visual effects
Rob Bottin	....	visual effects
Joseph P. Mercurio	....	visual effects

Stunts
Phil Adams	....	stunts
Chrystal Ashley	....	stunts
Christine Anne Baur	....	stunts (as Christine Baur)
Erik Cord	....	stunts (as Eric Cord)
Julius LeFlore	....	stunt coordinator (as Julius Le Flore)
Sandra Long	....	stunts
Pat Romano	....	stunt double
Pat Romano	....	stunts (as Patrick Romano)
Marvin Smith	....	stunts
Dianne L. Wilson	....	stunts (as Diane Wilson)
Julius LeFlore	....	werewolf stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Holly Bower	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Craig Fincannon	....	additional casting
Mark Fincannon	....	additional casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jayme Bednarczyk	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Tommy Dorsett	....	apprentice editor
Brent Eldridge	....	digital color correction
Vanessa Procopio	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
David Michael Frank	....	music performer: electronic music (as David Frank)
Barb Luby	....	orchestrator
Shelly Palmer	....	music sampling (as Shelton Leigh Palmer)
Jack K. Tillar	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Laura Warner	....	production driver

Other crew
Larry D. Jones	....	location assistant
Harold Mauck	....	werewolf suit crew

Production Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company
• Famous Films (II)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• AMLF (1986) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Cannon Screen Entertainment (1987) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2008) (United Arab Emirates) (DVD) (Middle East)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• North Carolina Film Corp.  catering
• Title House  title artwork
• Van der Veer Photo Effects  optical effects/titles
• Varèse Sarabande  score album released by (limited edition)

Also Known As:

"Stephen King's Silver Bullet" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1987) | Norway:(Banned) (1987-2003) (cinema release) | Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | UK:15 (DVD rating) (2008) | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:16 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Burgaw Courthouse Square - 100 S Wright St., Burgaw, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

According director Daniel Attias, Gary Busey ad libbed a great deal, for instance when Uncle Red is in the gun shop. Attias checked it with Stephen King, who said OK for it to be included.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: After Marty returns from shooting the werewolf in the eye, as he huddles against his wall you can partially see a Reggie Jackson California Angels poster next to him. The film takes place in 1976, yet Jackson didn't join the Angels until 1982.

Quotes:

Jane Coslaw:In the make believe stories a man becomes a werewolf only when the moon is full. Maybe somehow it's different. Maybe he's like this all the time. Only as the moon gets fuller...
Marty Coslaw:The guy gets wolfier.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Obscurus Lupa Presents: Vampire Cop (#3.23)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go

Brady's Dad

The actor who played Herb Kincaid (father of the shredded Brady) was phenomenal - I don't understand why no one has commented on this. When he was talking to the local yokels and the sheriff in Owens Bar after Brady's funeral, his voice, the depth of emotion in his eyes - so filled with pain, anger and loss that I almost actually believed that he had lost his son to a brutal killer. He captured the part of a bereaved and inconsolable father as accurately as any actor could, especially the way he said "As for me, I think I'll go out and hunt up a little private justice." Such a small part but one that reflected what real acting is all about.

I think they should have explained how Marty became paralyzed - his Uncle Red hinted that Marty hadn't always been crippled when he said (I'm paraphrasing here), "Sometimes I think your brain must have gotten paralyzed along with your legs." It seems to indicate that Marty had suffered an accident that left him unable to walk and it made you wonder exactly what had happened.

I think the manufactured tension between Jane and Marty wasn't terribly credible either. Beside the usual sibling rivalry, there was really no reason that Jane should resent Marty so much and act like she hated him, saying "Marty was the cross I had to bear." If anything, it seems like she would have been protective of him since he couldn't get around on his own and shown a little understanding. It made her seem like a selfish little witch and she garnered no sympathy from me. I wish her mom had actually made good on her threat to "smack" her.

Like a number of people, I loved Uncle Red - he wasn't supposed to be perfect but he sure loved his niece and nephew. He's the type of guy I'd want to watch my back in a crisis - drinker or not, he was always there for them.

I'm sure we all know a sneering, arrogant little jerk like Andy Fairton (who somehow always got otherwise rational people to listen to him and follow him). I could see this character in a western saying "Let's string him up boys" before he even knew whether or not the person was guilty. I wish the werewolf had a bitten a sizable chunk out of his know-it-all ass.

His mean-spirited comments were pretty funny though:

When the sheriff said "We'll catch him." Andy said "You couldn't catch a cold." "This whole investigation is as f***ked up as a submarine with screen doors."

The sheriff was totally incompetent though. Why would he go to Rev. Lowe's house at night alone when he wanted to question him about murder and not have any back up. Instead of blasting the reverend when he started walking toward him in a menacing fashion, the sheriff stared backing up in fear and only pulled his gun at the last minute.