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.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.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.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
- Billy McLaren
- (as Lonnie Moore)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTarker's Mills, where the action takes place, is a fictional town within the Stephen King universe. It borders locations of other King's works also adapted to film, such as Chester's Mill (Under the Dome (2013)), Derry (It (1990)) and Castle Rock (Needful Things (1993), Cujo (1983) and Pet Sematary (1989)), among others.
- GoofsWhen Jane goes into Reverend Lowe's garage, among the large pile of empty soda containers are some Diet Coke cans. Diet Coke did not exist in 1976 (the year in which the movie is set).
- Quotes
Mac: [Showing Uncle Red the Silver Bullet] There it is. Nicest piece of work I ever done, I think. It's got a low-grain load... so it won't tumble. Ought to be pretty accurate.
Uncle Red: Why, shoot, it's just a gag. I mean, uh, what the heck you gonna shoot a .44 bullet at anyway... made out of silver?
Mac: How about a werewolf?
- Crazy creditsSPOILER: Everett McGill is billed twice - once as Reverend Lowe at the top of the credits and as Werewolf at the bottom of the credits.
- Alternate versionsThe 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.
- SoundtracksJoyride
Music by Jay Chattaway
Lyrics Written and Performed by Rob. B. Mathes
Recorded at the Carriage House
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Some vicious murders hit a small town and a young boy (Corey Haim) begins to feel that it's something not human. After getting attacked by the creature, Marty then realizes that the killer is in fact a werewolf. He tells his sister (Megan Follows) and uncle (Gary Busey) but neither will believe him until they see evidence themselves.
Stephen King wrote the screenplay for this, which was an adaptation of his novella Cyle of the Werewolf. This film wasn't a hit when it was released and most critics and fans ripped it apart but I've honestly never understood this. While the film isn't as technically well-made as AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, it at least works as a very good "B" picture that has a nice story, some great performances and overall it's just a very good werewolf film.
The movie works on a number of levels but I think a lot of credit has to go to the cast. Watching this film as a kid I couldn't help but get caught up in wanting to be the young boy in the film played by Haim. Having his character be a cripple added so much to the picture because you feel sorry for him but it also puts the character in a disadvantage when it comes to battling a werewolf. Haim is extremely good in the part but it's Busey that steals the film as the drunken uncle who thankfully loves his nephew enough to go along with a story that he doesn't believe. Follows is also very good and we get some nice support from Terry O'Quinn, Joe Wright and even Lawrence Tierney in a small role.
The werewolf attacks are actually handled quite well by director Daniel Attias who really milks them for all that their worth. We see the victim, we see the werewolf and we slowly build up to the attack sequence. There are some very good sequences here including one dealing with some hunters in the fog and another that has Marty coming under attack in the woods. The werewolf looks good for the most part and the transformation scenes are nice. There's even some good violence thrown in, although there's no question that the movie goes for more suspense than gore.
SILVER BULLET really doesn't get the credit it deserves but to me it works perfectly as a nice little "B" movie. You don't expect too much out of it but it really delivers a fun time and it's a nice little throwback to the horror films of the 1950s where small towns come under attack by a monster and there are kids who no one will believe.
- Michael_Elliott
- Jan 13, 2018
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Cycle of the Werewolf
- Filming locations
- Burgaw Courthouse Square - 100 S Wright St., Burgaw, North Carolina, USA(Tarker's Mill festival)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $12,361,866
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,013,563
- Oct 14, 1985
- Gross worldwide
- $12,361,866