Roger Ebert Said This Stephen King Horror Movie Was Bad, But He Loved It Anyway

“Stephen King’s ‘Silver Bullet’ is either the worst adaptation of the Stephen King story ever made, or the funniest,” Roger Ebert opened his review of Dan Attias’s 1985 film. Ebert treated this horror adaptation as a spoof of the genre that took King’s talent for small-town horror and turned it into something unintentionally funny. This may seem strange if you haven’t seen “Silver Bullet,” in which King’s novella — titled “Cycle of the Werewolf” — begins with a series of brutal murders and how a traumatized Marty Koslow is shaped by these horrific events. How misguided does an adaptation have to be to turn such a bleak streak into a funny comedy? It turned out that Attias was a troubled film from the start, with Don Coscarelli leaving directing duties after the producer ignored King’s careful notes during production.

Behind-the-scenes conflicts aside, “Silver Bullet” is a baffling take on King’s intriguing werewolf horror, one that plays into every monster movie cliché while neglecting narrative coherence. But that did not prevent Ebert from rating it three stars out of four (!), as the film succeeded in making him laugh on several occasions:

“I know a case can be made about how bad ‘Silver Bullet’ is. And I agree. It’s bad. But it’s not routinely bad. It’s bad in its own tasteless, bubbly way — so bad, I think, that every laugh is lovingly crafted and handcrafted.” […] If you’re tired of horror movies in general and Stephen King in particular, this is the movie for you. “If you have impeccable taste and high artistic standards, why did you read this far in the first place?”

This seems fair. The problems with “Silver Bullet” are obvious, but is it really as funny as Ebert claims?

Spoilers For the next “silver bullet”.

The key to enjoying “Silver Bullet” is to throw serious expectations (or any expectations) out the window. The film’s tonal dissonance takes on a fever dream-like feel the moment the murders begin, as we see a child being attacked by an unseen threat because he was flying a kite at night. There’s an absurdist undertone to these objectively bleak events, especially when we’re introduced to the grumpy alcoholic Red (Gary Busey), whose hilarious dialogue is the film’s main source of unintentional humor. Reed is Marty’s (Corey Haim) over-reactive uncle, who spends his time berating his 10-year-old nephew and saying things like “Jesus is a bald-headed palomino!” Most of the film’s dialogue is of a similar tone, alternating between somewhat corny and whatever Red chooses to shout when you least expect it.

The werewolf effects, which were supposed to be the primary attraction, also leave a lot to be desired. The unexpected threat ruse works well at first, as Attias chooses to frame the werewolf in the shadows or use extreme violence (such as unexpected decapitation) to lay the foundation for fear. But all of that dissipates once you see the monster, as the werewolf costume is laughably unserious, especially when we see the creature beating a man with a baseball bat. The same sequences feel more tense in the novel, as King finds a compelling way to weave visual references and suggestions to liven up an over-the-top premise.

“Silver Bullet” could be pretty funny if you didn’t read too much into its glaring flaws. To that end, it’s time to revisit this underrated King adaptation, which can be streamed for free.