A small town community is rocked by a rash of killings thanks in part to a werewolf, and Sheriff Joe Haller(Terry O'Quinn)has no clues as to who the predator is. With a curfew effecting the town and frightened, angry citizens wanting the killer apprehended, it'll be up to brother and sister Marty & Jane Coslaw(Corey Haim & Megan Follows), along with their dis-believing alcoholic Uncle Red(Gary Busey)to stop the one committing the violence.
Bothered with having a responsibility for helping take care of crippled brother Marty, Jane must somehow trust him when he claims that he shot the werewolf in the eye with a bottle-rocket one night while lighting them in a nearby park. When his identity is discovered by Jane, they will have to convince Uncle Red to assist them or their very lives may be in jeopardy.
You know looking at "Silver Bullet" now, I feel it's a tale of two halves. A rock solid opening up until the fog-misted werewolf slaughter of gathered citizens, joining a mob out to find the beast, and the stunning show-stopping highlight, a dream sequence of the priest whose congregation turn into werewolves. Then the film suddenly changes. The one plagued with lycanthropy, once before was a good man, troubled with the beast, but at a certain point turns into a grubby-faced psycho attempting to murder Marty with his car, even threatening the wheel-chair bound kid inside a crippling bridge. When the sheriff is told Marty's story about being threatened by this person, he goes to the person's abode without a deputy backing him up. And, it seems that the town up and forgets about the terror plaguing their community murdering their citizens after the incident in the foggy park where the werewolf picked off several out to kill it. When Stephen King's screenplay shifts completely towards Marty & Jane's battle of wills with the man troubled with lycanthropy, the folks from the first half slide out of the picture. But, the first half effectively, I felt, displays a town riddled with paranoia and horror, especially when a child, a friend of Marty's, is brutally murdered. There's an effective attack on a pregnant woman on the verge of suicide. Another effective sequence is where the werewolf attacks a nasty repugnant citizen with a foul demeanor and profane mouth in his greenhouse. The last half does show two werewolf effective transformations..one where the killer turns after his identity is discovered by the sheriff, and at the end from the beast back into a man. Less effective, I felt, were the decapitated heads which never looked very real. I think the true success of this beloved werewolf flick is the undeniable chemistry between Busey and Haim. Their bond really helps bring the characters to life, as does the troubled brother-sister relationship..these elements are indeed important in fleshing the leads out into real characters, building up to a rather underwhelming conclusion when the werewolf comes to claim their lives. One touch I had never noticed before that really impressed me was the last time Marty would see his friend Brady alive, asking him if he was coming..the camera closes in on Haim's face as he stares as if knowing that this would perhaps be the last time he'd see his pal alive(..I felt it worked as an ominous omen the director was foretelling to us, that the werewolf would attack anyone in it's proximity).
Bothered with having a responsibility for helping take care of crippled brother Marty, Jane must somehow trust him when he claims that he shot the werewolf in the eye with a bottle-rocket one night while lighting them in a nearby park. When his identity is discovered by Jane, they will have to convince Uncle Red to assist them or their very lives may be in jeopardy.
You know looking at "Silver Bullet" now, I feel it's a tale of two halves. A rock solid opening up until the fog-misted werewolf slaughter of gathered citizens, joining a mob out to find the beast, and the stunning show-stopping highlight, a dream sequence of the priest whose congregation turn into werewolves. Then the film suddenly changes. The one plagued with lycanthropy, once before was a good man, troubled with the beast, but at a certain point turns into a grubby-faced psycho attempting to murder Marty with his car, even threatening the wheel-chair bound kid inside a crippling bridge. When the sheriff is told Marty's story about being threatened by this person, he goes to the person's abode without a deputy backing him up. And, it seems that the town up and forgets about the terror plaguing their community murdering their citizens after the incident in the foggy park where the werewolf picked off several out to kill it. When Stephen King's screenplay shifts completely towards Marty & Jane's battle of wills with the man troubled with lycanthropy, the folks from the first half slide out of the picture. But, the first half effectively, I felt, displays a town riddled with paranoia and horror, especially when a child, a friend of Marty's, is brutally murdered. There's an effective attack on a pregnant woman on the verge of suicide. Another effective sequence is where the werewolf attacks a nasty repugnant citizen with a foul demeanor and profane mouth in his greenhouse. The last half does show two werewolf effective transformations..one where the killer turns after his identity is discovered by the sheriff, and at the end from the beast back into a man. Less effective, I felt, were the decapitated heads which never looked very real. I think the true success of this beloved werewolf flick is the undeniable chemistry between Busey and Haim. Their bond really helps bring the characters to life, as does the troubled brother-sister relationship..these elements are indeed important in fleshing the leads out into real characters, building up to a rather underwhelming conclusion when the werewolf comes to claim their lives. One touch I had never noticed before that really impressed me was the last time Marty would see his friend Brady alive, asking him if he was coming..the camera closes in on Haim's face as he stares as if knowing that this would perhaps be the last time he'd see his pal alive(..I felt it worked as an ominous omen the director was foretelling to us, that the werewolf would attack anyone in it's proximity).