Oh yeah, this is a golden oldie, to be sure. The 1985 horror flick, Silver Bullet, is based on a 1983 novella by Stephen King titled, Cycle of the Werewolf. King wrote the screenplay for the film, which did not resonate with most critics. Who cares? I’ve always enjoyed it. What else is new?
WHEN DARKNESS FALLS, TERROR RISES
With that tagline, here is a brief overview of Silver Bullet. Let me start by mentioning what immediately drew me into the film. In the opening scene we have Arnie Westrum— the late, great, gravelly-voiced James Gammon—working on the railroad tracks in Tarker’s Mills, Maine. A bit inebriated and singing the Rheingold Beer theme, he does not notice the approach of a large, hairy figure. The inattention costs poor Arnie his head.
Young paraplegic Marty Coslaw (Corey Haim) and his older sister, Jane (Megan Follows), put aside their usual bickering as they realize that something is amiss in their small town. In addition to Arnie Westrum, a woman is brutally killed inside her home, as is an abusive father in his greenhouse. After Marty’s best friend is murdered, the townsfolk go all vigilante. That costs the town a few more mutilated bodies, to the horror of Reverend Lester Lowe, who tried to prevent the carnage.
Marty, atop the Silver Bullet, is stalked by the werewolf.
A DOUBLE ENTENDRE
Marty and Jane’s Uncle Red (a hilarious Gary Busey) is the family’s alcoholic ne’er-do-well, although Marty loves him. Red builds Marty a custom wheelchair/motorcycle, dubbed the “Silver Bullet,” and gifts him with a bunch of fireworks to offset the town canceling a fair. Marty takes them to a remote bridge to set them off and is stalked by the werewolf. He manages to escape after firing a rocket into the beast’s eye. He confides in Jane, who on the pretext of a bottle drive checks out nearly everyone in town to see who might have suffered an eye injury. And guess what—she succeeds!
The problem is, they’ve set themselves up to be the werewolf’s next victims. They share the story with dubious Uncle Red, who reluctantly agrees to help them. He has a gun, and now all he needs are some silver bullets…
One critic described the werewolf as Smokey the Bear with a hangover.
I’ll leave it there, except to mention one earlier memorable scene. Reverend Lowe, who has by this time presided over a number of funerals, has a nightmare in which he is presiding over a mass service with lots of caskets. Suddenly the entire congregation, as well as the bodies in the boxes, begin to transform into werewolves. The good clergyman wakes up screaming. Way cool!