Welcome to Frighten Me and the October Frights Blog Hop, Fiends! From October 10-15 we’ll be examining some of Frighten Me’s favorite horror films. Today, we look into the wonderful werewolf film, Silver Bullet.
SUMMARY:
Silver Bullet (1985) is based on the 1983 novella, Cycle of the Werewolf, written by Stephen King. It is narrated by the adult Jane Coslaw and involves events which happened to her and her brother, Marty, during the spring, summer, and fall of 1976. Marty, a wheel-chair bound boy, is the “cross” Jane has to bear. She has a strained relationship with her brother due to pressure exerted on her by her parents. She also resents her mother’s brother, Red, who is an alcoholic and in the process of divorcing his second wife.
Jane and Marty live in Tarker’s Mills, Maine, a place suddenly marked by a series of mysterious and grisly murders. Marty takes a personal interest in these killings after the father of the girl he likes is murdered and she moves away. He believes the creature is a monster, not a man. And, he confides this fact to Uncle Red, who fails to believe his theories.
Uncle Red dotes on Marty and builds him a wheelchair/motorcycle called, Silver Bullet. He also provides him with fireworks when the local show is canceled. Marty sneaks out of the house and rides Silver Bullet out to the nearby bridge where he puts on his own show. This is attended by a very sinister monster, a werewolf. The creature comes after Marty and the boy must defend himself. He shoots a rocket into the lycanthrope’s eye.
What follows is a great mystery and a terrific climax. Stephen King wrote the screenplay for this film and, I’ll venture to say, it’s far better than the original novella.
STARS:
Corey Haim – Marty Coslaw
Megan Follows – Jane Coslaw
Gary Busey – Uncle Red
Terry O’ Quinn – Sheriff Joe Haller
Everett McGill – Rev. Lester Lowe
LITTLE KNOWN FACTS:
-Gary Busey, who played Uncle Red, ad-libbed most of his lines in the film.
-Everett McGill is no stranger to horror films. He also starred in Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs in 1991.
MEMORABLE LINES:
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.
FAVORITE SCENE:
The reveal of the werewolf's identity.
MEMORIES:
Silver Bullet is a great film, a favorite of mine and my father’s. He shared it with his grandchildren, and my nieces and nephews used to pretend they were in the film. My nephew was Marty, my niece was Janie, and I doubled as Uncle Red and the Werewolf. My father bought his grandson a cap pistol which came with silver bullets and many’s the time I had to take the bullet out of the gun when I pretended to be Uncle Red. I also had to say, "Jesus Jumped Up Palomino," a lot.
HOW YOU CAN WATCH:
Silver Bullet is rated R. The film will air during the Stephen King Marathon portion of AMC’s FEAR FEST on October 20th. If you prefer the uncut version, it is available on Amazon.
Tune in tomorrow for our next October Fright, Bram Stoker’s Dracula! And, be sure to share your favorite movie memory in the comments below before hopping to the next blog.