Silver Bullet Analysis

The horror film I have chosen is a mostly forgotten little gem from the 1980’s, and that movie is Silver Bullet (1985). This is a movie full of horror, family issues and other melodramatic content. The film is centered around a boy and his relationship with his family members, especially his sister and uncle. The boy Marty Coslaw (Corey Haim) is constantly being overprotected by his mother and father. His sister and him have their differences, and when Marty’s uncle Red (Gary Busey) comes to town the dysfunctional family gets even more dramatic. This movie could have simply been a story of a boy and his struggles with his dysfunctional family in small town America, but while all of this is going on there is a string of murders that are occurring …show more content…
First of all the emphasis on music for the dramatic moments of the movie are constantly being used, with the dramatic but warming melodies that occur during the climax when the heroes battle the werewolf. But my personal favorite example comes about when Marty gets a present from his Uncle, a motorized wheelchair nickanmed “Silver Bullet”. He takes it for a ride and the amazingly cheesy song “Joy Ride” plans as he rides around the empty streets and has a blast… it’s amazing! The second component of melodrama at use is the use of the victim hero being at the center of the film. Marty is a paraplegic and is constantly being overprotected by his parents, which is a conflict they have with his Uncle Red who thinks the boy needs to be treated like a normal kid. Marty and his relationship with his mother is very similar to Julia Roberts and her mother’s relationship from Steel Magnolias (imagine if that movie had a werewolf in it… that would be amazing). This is a great movie with excellent use of horror elements and melodrama, and it happens to be based on a Stephen King novella titled “Cycle of the Werewolf” (this film is one of his favorite adaptations, especially since he had a lot of creative