Retro Cinema: ‘Silver Bullet’

Retro Cinema: ‘Silver Bullet’

How can you go wrong when you mix Stephen King, Gary Busey, and one of the Coreys? Trick question… You can’t go wrong. Plus if you add in a few werewolves, and some campy gore, you’ve got a big bundle of 80s horror known as “Silver Bullet.”

Corey Haim plays Marty, a boy stuck in a wheelchair that’s been dubbed the Silver Bullet. The story is narrated by his older sister, Jane (Megan Follows), reminiscing about the past. But in the present the story’s set in, she pretty much feels that he’s a pain in the butt. That starts to change and they find themselves coming together when people in their small town are turning up not only dead, but ripped to pieces. And the murders are metaphorically ripping the town apart as well.

When Marty’s best friend becomes the latest victim, the townsfolk seek some vigilante justice and want to hunt down whoever — or whatever — is killing people, despite pleas from the local sheriff. Of course, they go out hunting it at night. During a full moon.

Do I really need to tell you how that’s going to end? Yeah.

When Uncle Red (Busey) comes to visit Marty and Jane, that’s when things get really interesting. After Uncle Red builds Marty a supercharged motorized wheelchair and gives him some fireworks, Marty sneaks out in the middle the night to go set them off. Little does he know, this will bring him face to face with the beast that is terrorizing his town. During this late-night confrontation, Marty injures the werewolf, putting out an eye. It escapes, so Marty and Jane go on a hunt around town to find out who has a telltale injured eye. And suffice it to say, it is not the person they expected.

Unfortunately, the werewolf knows that they know, so they have to rely on Uncle Red to protect them when the beast comes to attack the only ones who know his identity.

The movie is based on Stephen King’s short story, “Cycle of the Werewolf.” Many King adaptations tend to turn into more campy fun than horror when they hit the screen, and this film follows that trend. That doesn’t mean it isn’t good… I mean, this is a classic 80s horror film that’s a lot of fun. And I’ve always been really partial to werewolves, but don’t expect any fancy transformation scenes in this one. In fact, I think the werewolf sort of looks like a teddy bear — I’m guessing that wasn’t exactly the effect they were going for.

Of course, there’s a bittersweet element to it now in light of Haim’s early demise, and the living train wreck that Busey has become. This is a pre-“Lost Boys” Haim, before Hollywood tore him apart. And Busey is in his prime here. The film is family-friendly if you’re looking for a film for kids that still appeals to adults.

Although you might have to explain Busey’s line that he’s more nervous “then a virgin on prom night.”

Retro Cinema is a new column that reviews a different retro horror film every Monday. Subscribe at the top of the page for updates on new film reviews, interviews and horror news.

 

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Retro Cinema: ‘The House That Dripped Blood’

Retro Cinema: ‘The House That Dripped Blood’

When people think of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, they think of legendary film studio Hammer. But there was another British film studio that liked to pair the two in horror movies, Amicus films, who put out some great horror anthologies. Not only did we have the House of Hammer, but the House of Amicus, and like it’s better known rival, Amicus was a house that dripped plenty of blood.

One of the best anthologies produced by Amicus was “The House That Dripped Blood.” This four-part anthology featured Cushing and Lee, although they performed in separate segments. It also featured legendary Hammer vixen Ingrid Pitt, vamping it up in her typical fashion. Basically, that woman just played herself in each of her roles, with “herself” being utterly fabulous with her long cigarette holders and plenty of cleavage.

The first of the four segments features a writer and his wife who move into the old house that serves as a backdrop connecting the four stories. He wants to finish his novel about a vicious murderer. Problem is, it seems his murderer is coming to life and stalking him and his wife. Sounds very Stephen King, doesn’t it? Well, this was before Stephen King made it big, as the film was produced in 1970. Although one has to wonder if this didn’t inspire “The Dark Half” just a little bit. For the record it was Robert Bloch who wrote these stories.

Anyway, writers in particular will get a kick out of the whole writing process and the way writers tend to try to make their characters so real — Sometimes a little too real. The Dominic character is very sinister on the page and as a flesh and blood stalker. And oh, that creepy laugh.

Is he real or is he just a figment of the writer’s imagination? Watch it and find out the twist at the end.

Then we move into the second segment, with Cushing looking mighty sharp in a red smoking jacket… so elegant and refined. As he listens to his classical music and goes through his theater programs, he comes upon a photo of a beautiful woman and walks into town looking quite lovelorn. He happens upon a “Museum of Horror” and decides to check it out.

As he wanders around the museum, which is basically a waxworks, he comes upon a rather interesting display of Salome with the head of John the Baptist on a platter. And this Salome seems to have a mesmerizing effect on Cushing… Her eyes remind him of the woman in the photo he was looking at earlier.

“She is beautiful isn’t she? My Salome…” says the proprietor out of the blue. Where did that guy come from? “Perhaps she reminds you of someone? You see, she has a strange effect on people. They seem to see in her all sorts of things.”

As it turns out, not only does she remind Cushing of his long-lost love, but she’s modeled after the proprietor’s deceased wife, who he says was a murderess who was executed for her crime. So he created the tribute to her to preserve her beauty for all time.

Suffice it to say that dead or not, he doesn’t take too kindly to other men ogling his deceased wife. First, he takes out his jealous rage on a friend of Cushing’s who stops in after a visit, then on Cushing himself when he finds he can’t stay away.

That’s quite a woman, wax or not.

The third segment features Lee, as a rather uptight widower and father of a young girl. Seems his little girl has an unnatural fear of fire, and Lee has a rather unnatural fear of just what powers this little girl might possess. Seems Mama dabbled in some of the dark arts, so Lee doesn’t like to have any dolls around the house. Unfortunately, the young woman he hires to tutor the little girl doesn’t really quite understand the complexities of the situation, and when he destroys the doll given to his daughter as a gift, she doesn’t just get mad, she gets even with Daddy.

This old house has a whole lot of old books, and some of those books have some witchy spells in them. Mix that with some candles melted down to make a brand-new doll, and I think you see where this is going. It doesn’t end well.

The final story of the anthology is where Pitt finally gets to shine. An actor moves into the house and his current role is playing a vampire in a horror film. He hates the cheesy sets and the bad, fake looking costumes, so he takes upon himself to find his own vampire cloak. He goes to a vintage clothing an antique store and finds a something much more real. Little does he know how real it is.

But when he puts on the cloak on set, funny things happen. Funny, as in him sprouting fangs and trying to bite his costars. But no one seems to believe him when he tries to tell them the cloak has magical powers to turn him into a vampire, least of all Pitt. When he sets out to prove to her that the cloak is real, let’s just say he’s in for quite a surprise.

All four stories of this anthology featured great actors, great stories and some really creepy moments. You can’t go wrong with Lee and Cushing, even outside the Hammer franchise. If you haven’t heard of Amicus before, I strongly suggest you not only check out this movie, but some of their other titles as well: Another big favorite of mine is their feature film “The Skull,” featuring Cushing. You may have a great Hammer collection, but your horror collection is far from complete without some Amicus, as well.

 

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Retro Cinema: Salem’s Lot

Retro Cinema: Salem’s Lot

One of the first books by Stephen King to find its way on celluloid was the made-for-TV flick “Salem’s Lot,” starring David Soul of “Starsky and Hutch” fame. (Don’t even ask me which he was because not only do I not remember, I don’t think I even knew back then.)

Now, when you think 70s and made-for-TV, one usually isn’t too optimistic about the result. But this was the exception, with good acting, nice makeup and yes, vampires that were scary and not emo. Not that should be surprising under the direction of Tobe Hooper.

The plot synopsis: Writer Ben Mears (a thinly-veiled King) returns to his hometown to explore some childhood trauma for a new book. He meets a girl, played by Bonnie Bedelia, and befriends the young teen Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin) who is obsessed with the macabre (a thinly-veiled teenage King) and they join forces when the townsfolk start falling ill and dying unexpectedly. It’s no coincidence this starts shortly after a stranger arrives and occupies the spooky Marsten house, getting it ready for its new mysterious owner who no one has seen.

Or at least no one who lives to tell the tale.

James Mason is supreme as the evil caretaker for one seriously fugly vampire, and this was the first time I had seen a Nosferatu-inspired vampire. Between him, and the vampires tapping on the windows, this one has some genuine creeps. Geoffrey Lewis (Juliette’s dad) also has a great scene, featured below.

Grab this while you can: It’s out of print and you may have to go VHS to stay in budget.

Salem’s Lot (1979) Cast
David SoulBen Mears
James Mason … Richard K. Straker
Lance Kerwin … Mark Petrie
Bonnie Bedelia … Susan Norton
Lew Ayres … Jason Burke
Julie Cobb … Bonnie Sawyer
Elisha Cook … Gordon ‘Weasel’ Phillips
George Dzundza … Cully Sawyer
Ed Flanders … Dr. Bill Norton
Clarissa Kaye … Majorie Glick
Geoffrey Lewis … Mike Ryerson
Barney McFadden … Ned Tibbets
Kenneth McMillan … Constable Parkins Gillespie
Fred Willard … Larry Crockett
Marie Windsor … Eva Miller
Barbara BabcockJune Petrie
Bonnie Bartlett … Ann Norton
Joshua Bryant … Ted Petrie
James Gallery … Father Donald Callahan
Robert Lussier … Deputy Constable Nolly Gardner
Brad Savage … Danny Glick
Ronnie Scribner … Ralphie Glick
Ned Wilson … Henry Glick

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Even Bacon Doesn’t Make ‘The Darkness’ Better In New Horror DVD Release

Even Bacon Doesn’t Make ‘The Darkness’ Better In New Horror DVD Release

There’s a saying in the culinary world that “everything’s better with bacon.” That often applies in the film industry as well, in the form of one Kevin Bacon. But sometimes even Bacon can’t save a flawed plot with the best of intentions.

The Darkness comes out on DVD September 6, and this horror film stars Bacon as well as the fabulous Radha Mitchell as a couple who have a troubled teenage daughter and autistic son. We’re off to a fairly good start there. It’s somewhat cliched, but good talent.

I also love it when a horror film works in some historical facts to back up supernatural events, and including some past Anasazi legends also gave me hope for something really unique and scary in The Darkness. Calling up some kind of ancient evil can be one of the scariest premises in horror, but sometimes it goes a little off track. Unfortunately, The Darkness is one of those films where the train completely jumped the track.

One thing that some horror writers and horror directors don’t seem to understand is that even though you’re dealing with supernatural principles, those fantastical elements still have to make sense. Even in a world where otherworldly events are occurring, they should form some kind of logic. Many of the supernatural elements in The Darkness don’t make sense, and the method of calling up this ancient evil is just too simplistic. Other things were confusing, such as the whole turning on the tap water schtick. Did I miss something that made that logical? Were they thirsty because they were desert-dwelling demons? I don’t get it.

Being logical and believable also applies to characters, and The Darkness does a fairly decent job in that regard, thanks to the talents of the cast, although there’s a pretty big flaw in logic in the alternate ending. But I’ll get to that alternate ending in a moment.

You have to care about the characters, and the teenage daughter was kind of annoying rather than sympathetic with her medical issue that came up during his troubled time in this family’s life. Also, mom likes to hit the bottle, and dear old dad has a history of fooling around in The Darkness. While these flaws might be nothing terribly new, I found it pretty appalling that his boss was hiring fresh meat for more affairs, even though Bacon was trying to be the good guy and fly straight.

Seriously, what is this nonsense? I don’t expect everyone to be perfect, and flawed characters make great tension, but a boss that actually hires people for his employees to have affairs with and encourages it? Oh, please.

Anyway, this film has some great ideas and great actors, but it just doesn’t feel fully fleshed out with those ideas in The Darkness. For some people, that may not bother them in the slightest. For pickier horror fans, that thin plot just won’t fly.

As for The Darkness DVD itself, the Blu-ray has a beautiful high definition picture, and the opening sequences feature some beautiful southwestern scenery at the Grand Canyon. For extras, there’s not a whole lot of added features with this package, so you’ll have to settle for a bunch of deleted scenes that do help explain a few plot elements and developments.

The other special feature and arguably the best part of this DVD packaging of The Darkness is the alternate ending. While I suspect that it wasn’t a fully-polished final edit, being an alternate version, I would definitely argue that the alternate ending would have been the better choice. Although I do take issue with a plot flaw in this alternate ending when the Native American woman helping the family makes a decision not to reveal some key information. Nope, I’m not buying that.

Like many horror fans, I love Kevin Bacon. Stir of Echoes is one of my favorite horror films, and I am a child of the 80s. Likewise, Radha Mitchell has definitely earned her chops in horror, with Silent Hill and Pitch Black. However, hardcore horror fans with high standards had better pass. If you aren’t so picky, see it before picking up The Darkness on DVD.

It pains me to say this, but even though they say everything’s better with Bacon, a turd sandwich is still a turd sandwich, even with Bacon on top.

‘The Devil’s Hand’ gets DVD release

‘The Devil’s Hand’ gets DVD release

the-devils-hand

Oh come on… don’t go in there! (The Devil’s Hand)

The Devil's HandWhat happens when you have six girls born on the sixth day of the sixmonth in the same Amish community with deep religious beliefs? Why, a demonic legend surrounding them, of course. The latest creepy devil legend thriller is  The Devil’s Hand, now available on DVD. Is this movie worth buying for your personal collection?

The Devil’s Hand has some scary moments and some great twists, using misdirection to keep the ending in suspense as far as who is the killer. And somewhat suspenseful which one of the girl’s is the “Drommelkind” of legend, destined to become “the Devil’s hand” on her 18th birthday.

The cast is mostly relatively unknown actors whose faces you know if not their names, and young actors, with the exception of Jennifer Carpenter, aka Debra Morgan on Dexter. Unfortunately, Carpenter is tragically underused here, except to scowl and smirk throughout the entire film as the evil stepmother. Sorry, Dexter fans, no potty mouth here as the devout Rebekah.

If the lead actress seems familiar, it’s probably because Alysia Debnam Carey bears a striking resemblance to Taissa Farmiga of American Horror Story fame, and Sarah is portrayed by Leah Pipes, who bears a striking resemblance to Radha Mitchell.

The acting and script are better than average and this is a very respectable horror film, if there are the typical moments when a character does something stupid that hastens their demise (hiding in a well?)

Obviously if you really love the movie you’ll want the DVD for your collection, but sadly, there are no special features to add value, so your decision will come down to how much you love the movie yourself.