Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

disgusting, overrated, pointless

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

RELEASED IN 1985 and directed by Daniel Attias, "Silver Bullet" chronicles events in a small town in Eastern America when a ferocious werewolf starts picking people off one-by-one. Corey Haim and Megan Follows play the adolescent brother/sister protagonists, the boy being a paraplegic. Gary Busey appears as the amiable alcoholic uncle while Robin Groves plays the mother. Everett McGill is on hand as a prominent minister while Terry O'Quinn appears as the sheriff.Stephen King wrote both the novella and the screenplay and so the movie has the comic book vibe of movies based on King's works. The townspeople are unsurprisingly cartoonish, but the main family is well done, i.e. realistic. In any case, "Silver Bullet" seems quaint compared to the three werewolf flicks of 1981: "The Howling," "An American Werewolf in London" and "Wolfen" (of course the latter wasn't strictly a werewolf flick, if at all). Nevertheless, I appreciate the old fashioned take on the subject and the warmth of the family members. The werewolf is Grade B when fully revealed, but certainly formidable. The film conveys cinematic stereotypes, like the goodhearted drunk (or prostitute) and the corrupt civic leader, who puts on a fake smile for the community while being a savage beast within. Although there's some truth to these depictions, most of the time a drunkard is an alcoholic because his/her heart is desperately flawed. And the bulk of respected community leaders aren't evil incarnate. Yet I like the way the movie shows how everything is not necessarily as it appears. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 35 minutes and was shot in North Carolina (Burgaw, Leland, Wilmington, Castle Hayne and Carolina Beach). GRADE: B-/C+

A Stephen King written film based on his own novella "Cycle of the Werewolf" which he heavily modified into more of a parody of the book."Silver Bullet" takes place in a small peaceful town where one night a horrendous murder occurs. The local thought, including the sheriff's, was that the deed was done by a deranged killer. Meanwhile, our story follows a young paraplegic boy, played by teen idol Corey Haim, who receives a motorized custom-built wheelchair from his uncle, Red and sneaks out to take it for a spin during the night where he gets attacked by a hairy creature. He manages to escape and tries to warn everybody that there is a werewolf-like animal around town and that it's been the true cause of the murder. Convincing no one. he goes off together with his sister to try and find out who the werewolf is.The cast does a great job of giving life to characters from a small enclosed community that experienced an attack disrupting their peaceful and uneventful lifestyle. Gary Busey plays uncle Red with a level of craziness that fits his every-day persona perfectly, even ad-libbing parts of his dialogue that later remained in the final cut on King's decision.The script's final draft is written in a more comical way by Stephen King than his novella, adding a lighter tone to the events, even getting a few laughs during some scenes."Silver Bullet" is a decent 80's horror film that matches perfectly with that decade and is certainly a good addition to the werewolf horror genre.

"Silver Bullet" is an adaptation of a novella by horror meister Stephen King. King also wrote the screenplay for this film. And, it's a werewolf movie to boot.In the sleepy little town of Tarker's Mills where nothing ever happens, grisly murders begin to take place. First a railway worker is literally loses his head. Next a distraught but pregnant young girl Tammy Sturmfuller (Heather Simmons) is brutally murdered. Thirdly a young boy Brady Kincaid (Joe Wright) becomes the next victim. Brady was the playmate of Marty Coslow (Corey Haim) with whom teased Marty's sister Jane (Megan Follows) only hours before.The townspeople become alarmed. They believe the murderer to be some sort of madman however. Marty has reason to believe that the murderer is a werewolf. The townspeople form under Andy Fairton (Bill Smitrovich) and the dead boy's father Herb (Kent Broadhurst), a group that goes out into the night in search of the killer. They find him. Three of the searchers are murdered in the fog. Reverend Lowe (Everett McGill) and Sheriff Haller (Terry O'Quinn) try to calm the folks down.Marty, who is crippled and rides a souped up wheelchair built by his carefree uncle Red (Gary Busey) continues to believe in the werewolf theory. One night while setting off fireworks in an isolated spot, Marty is attacked by the werewolf but manages to put out his eye with a rocket (if you can believe it). Jane now convinced of the existence of the werewolf, searches for a man with an eye patch while collecting bottles for a bottle drive run by the local church. She finds him and.................................The identity of the werewolf is not hard to pick out even though his identity is revealed half way through the film. The real terror comes when he stalks young Marty. There is a fitting climax to the proceedings complete with a silver bullet.Lot's of blood and gore including a decapitation however, the actual murders are not seen, only the aftermaths. Still, its a scary movie.You have to wonder how the werewolf was initially infected, given that the murders suddenly materialize in the quiet little town without warning.

It was summer, and the drive-in beckoned. On the menu that night was SILVER BULLET, based on the Stephen King novella illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. Werewolves? Hell, yeah- we were there. While the werewolves themselves weren't all we'd hoped they'd be, the movie as a whole was watchable. Gary Busey, beset by whatever personal demons he was battling at the time, did a decent job of sucking it up and getting the job done. Even that irritating kid did a good job, but the girl was the standout performer. And you just gotta love a preacher with an eye patch who turns into a f---ing werewolf. Like UNDER THE DOME (and FIRESTARTER and CAT'S EYE and NIGHT FLYER, etc.), SILVER BULLET was shot here in Crack Town. Them was the days...