Based on Stephen King's novella Cycle of the Werewolf, Silver Bullet tells the story of Marty; Other than being confined to a wheelchair, Marty is your typical snot-nosed kid who loves antagonizing his sister (Megan Follows) and getting into mischief with his Uncle Red (Gary Busey). Needless to say, when townsfolk begin turning up in pieces, no one believes Marty when he, quite literally, cries wolf.
The first thing that comes to mind whenever I'm discussing Silver Bullet is the performance of Everett McGill as Reverend Lowe. His take on the character is simultaneously sympathetic and downright chilling, Quite frankly, he gave me nightmares as a kid. I often compare his performance to that of Julian Beck as Reverend Kane in Poltergeist II in that he can send a chill down your spine with a simple look.
Also turning in an amazing performance is Gary Busey as Uncle Red. Red seems like your standard, run of the mill, drunken uncle at first, but we soon learn that he cares deeply for Marty, even going so far as to build him a hot-rodded wheechair. Red is the source for most of the comic relief in the film and is, to everyone's surprise, actually funny, which is usually a rarity in horror films of the 80's. Along with Reverend Lowe, Uncle Red really makes the film.
Corey Haim, in my opinion, gives the best performance of his career in Silver Bullet. (Eat your heart out, Lost Boys.) He's not completely annoying here, unlike in many of his other films. He does an especially good job of making you concerned for him; In particular, one very suspenseful scene on an old covered bridge.
The feel of Silver Bullet reminds me of Cujo at times. (Which is, coincidentally, also based on a Stephen King book.) The reason for that being that, at times, Silver Bullet feels like a family film. Contrary to popular belief, especially in the horror world, that isn't a bad thing, and actually creates a stark contrast for when things get scary.
Adding to the aforementioned contrast is the score by, which also reminds me of Cujo. The score is light and chipper when it needs to be, but kicks you in the gut in all the right places.
What would a werewolf film be without the special effects? The creature doesn't look bad, but he also doesn't look as amazing as one would like. The effects designers went in a very different direction than films such as The Howling and An American Werewolf In London, taking it more into the realm of Bigfoot. The end result has the character looking like a hybrid between a bear and a wolf. It's a good thing the creature isn't seen that much, or my opinion of it would probably be much lower. The bottom line is that they got their point across, which is the most important thing.
The transformation sequences are really well done, especially the final transformation from wolf to man, which is very startling, to say the least.
There are a handful of films that bring up fond memories of my childhood; this is one of them. Silver Bullet is delightfully campy and has the same tongue in cheek charm of films such as Fright Night and House. It has a way of sucking you in and making you feel like you're part of Marty's family; This is, of course, extremely effective when Marty and company are in danger of becoming Alpo.
Directed By: Daniel Attias
Starring: Gary Busey, Corey Haim, Everett McGill, Megan Follows
Released By: Paramount
There are no Special Features.
ChoKo's Rating:
