Silver Bullet (1985)

In a small town, brutal killings start to plague the close knit community. Marty Coslaw, a paraplegic boy, is convinced the murders are the doings of a werewolf.

Director:

Daniel Attias

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Stephen King (screenplay)

Stars:

Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Corey Haim

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

The small town of Tarker's Mills was a place that was very peaceful, where nothing extraordinary ever happened until one night when murders began. The townspeople believe it's some maniacal killer on the loose whom they intend to hunt down. Marty, a young handicapped boy, believes the killer is no man at all, but a werewolf. After a run-in with the werewolf, Marty and his sister Jane hunt all over town for the man who is the werewolf.

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Plot Keywords:

pantyhose | 1970s | year 1976 | murder of a child | child uses a gun | 

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Taglines:

Part human. Part wolf. Total terror.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Corey Haim became friends with Gary Buseys son Jake Busey. Many years later Jake stated: "Corey Haim was in the film and we were the same age, Corey was six months younger than I was. So me being there as a visitor and Corey being there as an employee and the lead kid, we really became friends. We spent a lot of time together, we did a lot of fishing off the piers of Rascoe Beach in North Carolina. We had a really good time. It was before he was a celebrity, before anyone knew who he was. It was kind of one of his first movies, so he hadn't been tainted by the machine yet. We really did hit it off well, and I remember watching him work and thinking we're skateboarding together, we're fishing together, we're on the beaches of North Carolina. We're doing whatever, whatever thirteen year-olds do. Yet, I was on the sidelines watching him and my dad acting, and I remember thinking, "I could do this, I could totally be doing this. That looks really fun. In fact, this is frustrating that I don't get to do it."

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Goofs

When Gary Busey is protecting himself from the werewolf with a crow bar, the bar bends in half.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Older Jane: [Older Jane narrating] The last full moon of that Spring came a little more than a month before school let out for Summer vacation. Our town's long nightmare began that night.

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Crazy Credits

SPOILER: Everett McGill is billed twice - once as Reverend Lowe at the top of the credits and as Werewolf at the bottom of the credits.

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Alternate Versions

The UK DVD release of the film in 2001 contains the original movie trailer and spoken commentary by director Daniel Attias, both of which is not available on any other officially released DVD including the US.

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Connections

Featured in Movie Nights: Silver Bullet (2012)

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Soundtracks

Amazing Grace
(uncredited)
Written by John Newton

User Reviews

Decent werewolf film.

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.

Details

Country:

USA Netherlands

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cycle of the Werewolf

Filming Locations:

Greenfield Park, 1739 Burnett Blvd., Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,013,563, 14 October 1985

Gross USA:

$12,361,866

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,361,866

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Famous Films (II), International Film Corporation (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1