Silver Bullet: A See-Again Movie for Halloween

Photo from Google Images (2014)

It's almost Halloween, and as the holiday approaches, I enjoy seeing a few good horror movies. However, the key word is “good,” because I like to think that I have discriminating taste when it comes to choices in cinematic fare, including horror movies. As a result, I don’t watch just any horror movie. For instance, I do not care for “slasher films” like Halloween (The 1978 film, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, is a different story entirely), Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13^th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or other splatter-fests. My idea of a good horror movie is one that meets the following criteria:

• Suspense that keeps you on edge.

• Well-developed and likeable characters.

• Good acting.

• A tight script.

• A believable plot. (Yes, I know that horror movies don’t exactly reflect reality, at least the reality I know; nevertheless, their storylines should allow the viewer to enter that state Samuel Taylor Coleridge called “a willing suspension of disbelief.)

• No gratuitous blood, gore, or profanity.

So, that said, I am going to tell you about my all-time favorite movie for Halloween viewing.

Stephen King's Silver Bullet 

 Circa 1985 and classified as a psychological horror/teen film, Silver Bullet is based upon a Stephen King novella, Cycle of the Werewolf. Directed by Dan Attias, it stars:

• Gary Busey as the reprobate Uncle Red

• Corey Haim as Marty Coslaw, Uncle Red’s nephew

• Megan Follows as Jane Coslaw, Uncle Red’s niece

• Everett McGill as Reverend Lester Lowe

• Terry O'Quinn as Sheriff Joe Haller

• Robin Groves as Nan Coslaw, Marty's mother and Uncle Red’s sister

• Leon Russom as Bob Coslaw, Nan’s husband and Marty and Jane’s father

• Other assorted actors and actresses, plus a good many extras

Set appropriately in October, in the small town of Tarker Mill, Maine (Aren’t all King’s stories set in Maine?), Silver Bullet is a superior horror film, mainly because of the relationship between Uncle Red, Marty, and Jane. Plus, the film has heart and even contains moments of humor.

Plot Overview

 Jane Coslaw (Follows) narrates the story, and she sounds rather eerily like the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird, though I’m sure they aren’t one in the same since the film based on Lee’s novel was released 23 years before Silver Bullet. Anyway, the storyline revolves around Jane’s strained relationship with her brother Marty, who is a paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair, and their parents, who Jane feels are overly protective of Marty and treat her unfairly as a result.

Google Images (2014)

The siblings’ often tumultuous relationship changes for the better, however, after a series of gruesome murders occur in Tarker Mill. As the murders continue and the police get no closer to catching the perpetrator, the town establishes a curfew and cancels its annual October Fest, which includes a fireworks show. The event happens to correspond to Marty’s birthday (I think it’s his birthday), so Nan and Bob, not wanting to disappoint Marty, decide to have a cookout and invite Nan's brother (Uncle Red), who, regardless of his black-sheep standing in the family, is Marty’s favorite uncle. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why Red is Marty’s favorite uncle. He certainly isn’t boring. In fact, he’s anything but.  

Google Images (2014)

Uncle Red, obviously mechanically inclined, has made Marty a souped-up wheelchair/motorcycle nicknamed the “Silver Bullet” (probably because it’s silver and fast, but also because it’s an analogy—silver bullets, as you know, kill werewolves). Uncle Red also gives Marty a large bag of fireworks, so Marty, riding in the Silver Bullet, goes zooming off into the night (As if I would go zooming off into the night with a manic on the loose) to shoot his fireworks. Marty stops on a bridge in the middle of the woods, where he lights some fireworks and is having a rousing good time when he’s confronted by—you guessed it—the werewolf. Marty, being resourceful however, launches a rocket, hits the werewolf directly in the eye socket, and high-tails it for home, where he shimmies up the trellis, rolls through the window, climbs into bed, pulls the covers over his head, and shivers until he falls asleep (Could you sleep after seeing a werewolf?).

The next day Marty tells Jane that a werewolf is on the prowl in and around Tarker Mill. She tells her brother that he’s nuts, but Jane later changes her mind when she notes Reverend Lowe’s bandaged eye and finds a bloody baseball bat in the church’s garage. The kids, though, know they can’t handle a werewolf by themselves, so they solicit Uncle Red’s help. Uncle Red, despite his care-free Peter-Pan outlook on life, is a realist, so he doesn’t believe for one moment that a werewolf is terrorizing the town. Wanting to placate the kids, however, he agrees to help them kill the monster. The first step, Marty and Jane decide, is to take Jane’s silver crucifix to a master gunsmith who can melt the crucifix down and turn it into a silver bullet. The next step is to wait for the full moon¸ which appropriately is scheduled to occur on Halloween night.

Okay, that’s all I’m going to tell you about the plot; otherwise, there’ll be no need for you to see the movie.

Silver Bullet Rating 

Although you special-effects aficionados will probably cringe over the werewolf’s appearance (It isn’t exactly up to 2014 standards), Silver Bullet is a see-again movie. It’s suspenseful; it’s entertaining from beginning to end; the characters are likeable; the storyline, though fanciful, is believable; the acting is outstanding; it contains very little if any profanity (none that I can recall); and though it’s rated “R” for violence and gore, that violence and gore are mild compared to what you see in movies today. In fact, though the movie isn’t for very young children, I personally would not rate it R. If anything, Silver Bullet should receive a PG-13 rating or perhaps even a PG. After all, compared to recent horror movies, as well as a great many from earlier years, it’s tame. And, it’s fun to watch.

Disney Marvel Years Into the Merger

Several years into the merger between Disney and Marvel Entertainment and i, for one, am very excited about what has been brought (and what is in talks to be brought) to the table. What at first seemed to be the imminent "babification" of some very iconic figures, has instead turned into a serious and most lucrative enterprise.

Disney infused much need revenue but let the creative types, comfortable in their vein, stay in that vein...only now with the resources to make bold strides into the multiplex market. Long range focus, respect for the source material (if not dogged adherence) and smart choices for budgeting, direction and acting talent have proved a powerful and (seemingly) very synergistic relationship.  If nothing else, the glaring missteps (though at times well intentioned) of the past (HULK, Daredevil, Ghost Rider) appear to be drifting into the sea of forgetfulness.

I dig it, what are Your thoughts on the Disney/Marvel marriage?

~Steven

X-Men: Days of Future Past!

Greetings All,

 

Went out to Denver two weeks ago for my Daughter's graduation and that weekend she and i saw "X-Men: Days of Future Past".  We really enjoyed this outing into the X-Men Universe and as the credits were rolling the first thing out of my mouth  was "Welcome back Bryan Singer!"  After the X-3 debacle, it was good to finally see some semblance of normalcy (as much as You can have with a movie adaptation) returned to the world of Our favorite mutants...plot holes not withstanding.  It was nice to care about these characters again after the mess that Brett "The Rat" Rattner made of X3 and the disappointment that was "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."  The healing process that began with "The Wolverine" came into full fruition (IMHO) with DOFP, and I for one am ecstatic about it!  If You haven't seen it, invest a warm Saturday afternoon in a cool movie theater, a $15.00 bag of popcorn, and remember why You first fell in love with Charles Xavier's School of Gifted Youngsters and The rest of the Mutanfold.  Here's to hoping You will be delighted as I was.

 

~Steven

Spider-Man V.S The Amazing Spider-Man

With the recent debut of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, this franchise leads me to think about the previous Spider-Man trilogy.  It is widely accepted that Spider-Man 2 was the best film in the series staring Toby Maguire, and the reboot starring Andrew Garfield was an equally awesome reboot.

What are your thoughts on the web-slinger and his filmed adventures (please no spoilers if you've seen the newest film)?

~Andy

Heroes

Greetings All,

Steven Ware here, just wanted to share a few thoughts that i have been considering.

i saw "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" when it came out and i am very pleased to see that it is still the #1 movie in America some three weeks after its release.  There is more to my pleasure at seeing the movie do so well than just fannboy excitement, though (not sure how much more, but there is a measurable percentage more).  I am excited to see a movie that deals with the complex issues of what s of what it means to be a hero in today's society (especially here in the U.S.A.)doing so well.  i really like the fact that a comic book movie is striving to say something more than "Might makes Right", in fact this movie may come as close to saying the opposite of that sentiment than any other comic book adaption ever has (including "Watchmen", imho).

Which brings me to the question i would like to pose to You All;  In today's world, how essential are heroes?  This world seems to meandering toward chaos more and more each day, is touting the actions and character of heroes (real or imagined) akin to some kind of Sisyphusian mental torture...in a nutshell, what is the appeal of looking to the best in mankind when the worst is running rampant?  

A fair assessment, no?  But maybe the whole symbol represented in the "Starfish story" is the key to the necessity of hope - which is what heroes embody in our minds, in our souls.  The need to reach for what Abraham Lincoln called “the Better Angels of Our Nature”.  Heroism inspires heroism, hope breeds hope.  In a society inundated by anger, angst and apathy don’t Our hearts cry out for heroes?  As the world spins into shadow, aren’t we all desperately craving the light of compassion, civility and self-sacrifice?  

I submit to You that the current spate of Superhero movies is touching more than a childish desire to see Our costumed vigilantes finally robed in flesh, but the fulfillment of the yearning that We feel to see Someone overcome insurmountable odds for the sake of the greater good.  Walt Whitman said; “ I understand the large hearts of heroes, the courage of present times and all times,” .  

I salute You Captain America for doing so well at the box office, and even more so for letting us believe, if even for a little while, that there is better in Us and that We can aspire to that better in Ourselves.

~Steven