Thoughts on Silver Bullet

 

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"There's a guy, sittin' in the bar. To the bartender, he says, 'Hey, jackass, give me a drink.' So the bartender pours him a drink. He drinks it. Sits there for a while, says, 'Hey, jackass, pour me another drink.' So he pours another drink. The guy gets up and leaves. The guy that's sittin' there says, 'Hey, why do you let him call you 'Jackass' all the time?' The bartender says, 'Oh, hee-haw, hee-haaw, hee-haalways calls me that!'"

Once again, we have a movie that I liked considerably more than I expected to. Silver Bullet, written by Stephen King from his Cycle of the Werewolf, benefits from Gary Busey's inimitable presence. I've said it before: I like characters in a horror story who would be just as likely to tell or go see it at the movies if they weren't the protagonists. Busey's ad libbing mojo also contrasts nicely with Corey Haim, all cute as a button but not especially interesting as wheelchair-bound hero Marty, Megan Follows as big sister Jane and Everett McGill, who's kinda rocking the Thorn Birds look, as sexy but doomed Rev. Lowe.

Forgive me, father, for I have sinned ... 

Directed by Dan Attias and an uncredited Don Coscarelli, Bullet was filmed and released during King's ubiquitous period. He's been famous for nearly 50 years, but consider 1983-85. Bullet was the sixth feature-length adaptation of his released in a two-year span. There were plenty before and plenty after, but The Dead Zone is notable because it was the first of five (including four out of the aforementioned sextet) produced by Dino De Laurentiis. He didn't always have the right instincts, but Dino was on the money when he insisted Bullet's werewolf needed to look distinct. Alas, he eventually yielded to King's wish for a less hulking monster and the whatever-the-hell-it-is design created by Carlo Rambaldi.

"Has ... has anyone in here seen my son, Brady?"

The people of Tarker's Mill, Maine, are terrorized by a vicious killer who comes out on nights with a full moon. Naturally, some red herrings are dangled before the big reveal. Bill Smitrovich makes a valiant effort at stealing the show from Busey. He's so memorable as local motor mouth and asshole Andy that I felt cheated when the movie ended without some sort of comeuppance. That said, Andy and his buddies ignoring Sheriff Haller (Terry O'Quinn) while preparing to serve some "private justice" plays especially uncomfortable in the wake of the domestic terrorism plot recently foiled in Michigan.

Alongside the suspense and small town drama, we have a coming of age story. Marty's a sweet kid, even if Jane's tired of him getting his own way all the time. Uncle Red (Busey) is a drunk who's bad at relationships, but he clearly adores his family. Jay Chattaway's, uh, distinct score plays over scenes like Marty hauling ass with the "Silver Bullet," a special wheelchair Red made him. I also liked the scene where Marty escorted classmate Tammy (Heather Simmons) home, both for the gentlemanly behavior and for the hilarity of Milt Sturmfuller (James A. Baffico) screaming out for "Taam-ah!" Little oddities, like regionally inappropriate dialects, make the difference in elevating a movie from bad to good-bad.

"This whatever it is — is nothing I asked for. I wasn‘t bitten by a wolf or cursed by a gypsy. It just … happened. I picked some flowers for the vases in the church vestry one day last November. Up by that pretty little cemetery on Sunshine Hill. I never saw such flowers before … and they were dead before I could get back to town. They turned black, every one. Perhaps that was when it started to happen. No reason to think so, exactly … but I do. And I won‘t kill myself. They are the animals, not me."

The above Cycle excerpt is the closest we come to finding out how Lowe became afflicted. Bullet goes a step further, with Marty and Jane determining that the severity of his lycanthropy depends on the full moon's strength. Lowe's poor attempt at justifying his killings, or at least the death of suicidal unwed mother Stella (Wendy Walker) -- she couldn't commit suicide, as she'd burn in hell for it, while mauling her to death at least saves her soul -- is interesting when you think King wasn't too far away from writing Misery. It's not a stretch for Lowe to consider members of his parish like "rats in a trap."

Bullet is not a great movie, and I'm not sure if it has rewatchability, but I had a good time in the moment. Who doesn't love a movie where heads are severed, eyes are taken out with fireworks and Busey gets thrown about like a ragdoll?

"Here it is. Nicest piece of work I've ever done, I think. It's got a low grain load, so it won't tumble. Oughta be pretty accurate."

"Oh. Well, shoot, it's just a gag. I mean, what the heck are you gonna shoot a .44 bullet at anyway? Made out of silver."

"How 'bout a werewolf?"

Recommended with reservations.

Thoughts:

-- "You see how all things serve the will and the mind of God? You see, you meddling little shit?!"

-- Box Office: Grossing nearly $12.4 million on a $7 million budget, this opened at No. 3 and came in at No. 69 for 1985.

-- Critic's Corner: "It's a close call, but I think the movie is intentionally funny," Roger Ebert declared. "His eyes in a perpetual squint, his mouth always ajar, Busey seems constantly on the ready to eat the entire world," Paul Attanasio wrote. In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked Bullet at No. 19 on the list of top 30 Stephen King films. "A solid B-movie ... the workman-like approach actually fits King's prose and tone ... as well as forcing everything to adhere to a forward momentum that amps up the tension."

-- Awards Watch: Haim scored a Youth in Film Award for his performance, beating out the likes of Sean Astin for The Goonies and Lukas Haas for Witness. I was slightly surprised that Busey or McGill didn't get a Saturn nomination.

-- Hey, It's ...!: James Gannon and Lawrence Tierney are among the victims. I initially thought Kent Broadhurst, who played Mr. Kincaid, was Ben Piazza.

Broadhurst

Piazza

-- "I'm a little too old to be playing 'The Hardy Boys Meet Reverend Werewolf.'"

-- Next: Re-Animator. On deck: Dreamchild. Coming soon: Sweet Dreams, Krush Groove.