Silver Bullet

"It started in May. In a small town. And every month after that whenever the moon was full...It came back."

1985 1h 35m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🥫

46%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 733🥫46%Rotten Tomatoes●26Metacritic★6.4IMDB · 33,769

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…

“It started in May. In a small town. And every month after that whenever the moon was full...It came back.”

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Cast

Gary Busey
Uncle Red
Everett McGill
Reverend Lowe
Tovah Feldshuh
Older Jane (voice)
Megan Follows
Jane Coslaw
Corey Haim
Marty Coslaw
Terry O'Quinn
Sheriff Joe Haller
Robin Groves
Nan Coslaw
Leon Russom
Bob Coslaw

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Dan Attias
Writers: Stephen King
Languages: English
Countries: Italy, Netherlands, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Italy, Netherlands, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Dan Attias, shot by Armando Nannuzzi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jay Chattaway. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Daniel Loewenthal shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gary Busey and Everett McGill and Tovah Feldshuh carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It started in May. In a small town. And every month after that whenever the moon was full...It came back.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0090021 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Dan Attias directs. Armando Nannuzzi behind the camera. Jay Chattaway scores. Daniel Loewenthal cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Italy, Netherlands, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

141 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 3 countries: Italy, Netherlands, United States of America.
3Directed by Dan Attias, shot by Armando Nannuzzi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jay Chattaway. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Daniel Loewenthal shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Gary Busey and Everett McGill and Tovah Feldshuh carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It started in May. In a small town. And every month after that whenever the moon was full...It came back.".
8IMDB entry: tt0090021 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Armando Nannuzzi
Original score: Jay Chattaway
Editing: Daniel Loewenthal
Production design: Giorgio Postiglione
Costume design: Clifford Capone
Makeup / hair: Jill Rockow
Sound: Lee Dichter
Stunt coordinator: Julius LeFlore
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $12,400,000
Return: 177% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Silver Bullet (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes: 46% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 26/100
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 33,769 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 nominations total

Also by

Dan Attias

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Rosemary Johnsobn2016-07-14
What makes this movie a winner to me is that the Boogeyman can be anyone; and usually is the person we want to trust in the most outside of a Supreme Higher power than ourselves; this movie is great because, it shares a great bond and obligation between siblings and family, with family support, open-mindedness, and will; brings back that old saying; If there's a will there's a way. Well thought out from the beginning to the end. Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wuchak2018-05-08
★ 6/10
Quaint comic book werewolf flick by Stephen King RELEASED IN 1985 and directed by Daniel Attias, "Silver Bullet" chronicles events in a small town in Eastern America when a ferocious werewolf starts picking people off one-by-one. Corey Haim and Megan Follows play the adolescent brother/sister protagonists, the boy being a paraplegic. Gary Busey appears as the amiable alcoholic uncle while Robin Groves plays the mother. Everett McGill is on hand as a prominent minister while Terry O'Quinn appears as the sheriff. Stephen King wrote both the novella and the screenplay and so the movie has the comic book vibe of movies based on King’s works. The townspeople are unsurprisingly cartoonish, but the main family is well done, i.e. realistic. In any case, “Silver Bullet” seems quaint compared to the three werewolf flicks of 1981: “The Howling,” “An American Werewolf in London” and “Wolfen” (of course the latter wasn’t strictly a werewolf flick, if at all). Nevertheless, I appreciate the old fashioned take on the subject and the warmth of the family members. The werewolf is Grade B when fully revealed, but certainly formidable. The film conveys cinematic stereotypes, like the goodhearted drunk (or prostitute) and the corrupt civic leader, who puts on a fake smile for the community while being a savage beast within. Although there’s some truth to these depictions, most of the time a drunkard is an alcoholic because his/her heart is desperately flawed. And the bulk of respected community leaders aren’t evil incarnate. Yet I like the way the movie shows how everything is not necessarily as it appears. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 35 minutes and was shot in North Carolina (Burgaw, Leland, Wilmington, Castle Hayne and Carolina Beach). GRADE: B-/C+
Gimly2019-01-20
★ 6/10
Like a children's horror movie that still has some actual horror, Busey chews up Silver Bullet hard, because of course he does, but it was still pretty enjoyable. If you are feeling a retro sort a deal, I can recommend it, not strongly, but there's a mood you can be in where Silver Bullet is much appreciated. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.