Wondra: I’m happy that we’re doing Stephen King adaptions this Halloween. It gives me a chance to rewatch movies I haven’t seen in a long time – like Silver Bullet (1985.) I know you watched it like a month ago, but it's been awhile for me.
Jay: Silver Bullet is one of my favourite werewolf movies.
W: Werewolf movies always have major cringe potential, don't they? No
matter how good the story is, the costume/special fx are what makes or breaks a
werewolf flick. What do you think? How did Silver Bullet do?
J: I’d say… a 6/10. The werewolf was never the best part
of the film. But really, it was never meant to be. Movies like Silver Bullet
always do best when they limit how much they show of the monster. A claw here,
a snout there…
W: Not a werewolf movie, but I'm thinking about Night of the Demon.
J: Right, exactly that type of thing.
Werewolf films that came before Silver Bullet far surpassed it in
terms of effects. Think about the likes of An American Werewolf in London.
Like I said, though, it was never about
the werewolf with this one. It was about Marty (Corey Haim) and the dynamics of
Marty and his family.
You know Marty and his sister, Jane (Megan Follows,) don’t
get. That’s pretty obvious straight away. After that, it takes some time to
build Marty’s character. You’ve got all that going on, with the relationship
between him and his parents versus him and his Uncle Red (Gary Busey) – plus
all the stuff with the townsfolk going on… it’s a slow build.
W: Be honest… how long did it take you to suspect Reverend
Lowe (Everett McGill?) Until the weird dream bit, I didn’t give him a second
thought because he was the one trying to keep everyone calm.
J: I didn’t get it until Jane said, “My brother’s a real
pain” and the reverend turned with the bandage over his eye.
W: Do you think the priest kept trying to talk everyone
out of hunting down the creature because he was afraid for his safety – or
theirs?
J: I think definitely for his own safety. As he saw it, he
didn’t have a choice. He had to kill.
W: He couldn’t keep his secret from them forever. Not at
the rate he was going…
J: You’re right. Even if the townsfolk hadn’t started hunting
for him, Lowe would eventually have run out of people and would have moved on
to the next town.
W: What do you think drove Lowe over the edge? His
personality seemed to totally split after getting jabbed in the eye – don’t get
me wrong, it sucks, but is that really a turning point kind of moment?
J: Marty drove the reverend over the edge, definitely. He
was always going to be a murderer – that’s the nature of the beast – but he
might not have gone full blown psycho in his human form without Marty antagonizing
him.
W: Silver Bullet does something a lot of horror
movies don’t: it focuses on disability. The really great thing about it,
though, is that rather than showing how helpless the disabled kid is, it shows
how abled he is. That’s a powerful statement for a 1980-something film. What
are your thoughts on the way Silver Bullet deals with disability? Do you
think Marty’s disability adds to or detracts from the story? How would the
story be different if King had used a fully abled character?
J: You have to have the wheelchair, named Silver Bullet,
because it’s the connection to the werewolves and the thing that kills them.
I’m not sure they did deal with Marty’s disability realistically,
honestly… the way he’s climbing trees and out of his bedroom window and things…
Is that realistic for his type of paralysis? Would he have developed that
kind of upper body strength at his age? I don’t know if I buy it.
W: I love the double-meaning behind the name, Silver
Bullet, but I don’t remember the wheelchair/scooter having a name in the
original book, Cycle of the Moon, and Marty was still disabled in that.
Okay. Deeper question. Do you think there’s room for
disabled people in horror – as anything other than the victims?
J: Of course there is. There’s room for everyone in horror. You’re
right when you say that if you see a disabled person in horror, they’re usually
the victim, but there’s so much possibility, and so much scope for making them
the heroes or, even better, the baddies.
W: That’s where you usually see disabled people in other
movies, like fairy tales and action flicks, and I’m over that. Oh, you know he’s
a baddie because he’s deformed or because he has a disability. Fuck that. Give
us more disabled heroes!
J: Corey Haim earned his money in this one. Even though he’s
not actually disabled, he makes you believe his is, especially in scenes like
when he’s watching his friends play baseball. You see the longing in his eyes,
and you really feel for him.
W: He was a great actor. It was a shame what Hollywood
did to him.
The good ole townsfolk triggered the fuck outta me. Funny
how you can move 4,000 miles away, but one scene takes you right back to a
crowded local bar where everyone knows everyone’s business. I bet you there’s
someone in my hometown talking shit about me in a little bar just like that one
right now.
I mean… community plays a massive role in Silver
Bullet – but what’s the message? Is King telling us community is important
or is he denouncing the evils of it? I can see it going either way. (I’m leaning
toward evils but, hey, that’s my small town girl showing.)
J: I’m leaning toward evil too. You saw it during the
pandemic. When push comes to shove, it’s every person for themselves. When the townsfolk
go up into the mountain looking for the creature and it actually shows up, they
scatter. Don’t get me wrong, though… that’s a natural response.
W: Can’t say I wouldn’t have run like a little bitch…
Oh, my gods. By the end, I just wanted to throttle Lowe. He
invoked his Entitled White Man privilege when he insisted that he killed the
pregnant woman because suicide was a sin (after she already had to put up with
her baby daddy treating her like shit and calling her a slut,) then went for
the typical “It’s not my fault!” defence. Why do we keep making room for those
douchebags in horror when we have to face them every day anyway?
J: That’s exactly why. Because they’re always there. Just
watch YouTube. They’re the one thing that endures. In any film, going back to
the beginning, you’ve got the Entitled character. They’re hateful and ever
present.
W: Okay, there’s one last thing we have to talk about.
Well, a person… Gary Freaking Busey. You mentioned Corey Haim’s vulnerability
and all that he brought to the role. What about Busey? What did that crazy mofo
bring?
J: Being a crazy mofo?
He steals the show. He’s the mad uncle. He’s batshit, a
drunk, a layabout – but he’s the kid’s hero. He doesn’t have any kids of his
own, so he lives through Marty. Busey was just exploding onto the scene about
this time and you can see why. When he’s on screen, he steals every minute.
W: Final thoughts on Silver Bullet?
J: All in all, it’s a well-cast, well-acted, well-shot film.
The worst part of the movie, sadly, is the werewolf itself –
but it doesn’t matter because the story is so compelling. Considering it was
just a short novel, it turned into a tremendous film.
Jay’s Rating: 💀💀💀
Wondra’s Rating: 💀💀💀
