Silver Bullet: Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Review

THE MOVIE — 2¾/5

Quick Hit Review: First up, I’m not the biggest Stephen King fan. Don’t hate the guy and he’s talented, but never been over my skis with these adaptations which have had a mixed record in terms of quality, with highlights being The Shining (flawed as it is), Carrie, Stand By Me, Misery, The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist perhaps being the best of the bunch (and looking at the filmography, he has a s-ton of adaptations, far more than I thought…).

Silver Bullet was released back in 1985 and is pretty much what I would call a passable film but ultimately forgettable with a thin story which is understandable considering it’s based on a novella, though a short story adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption was hella good). The acting was serviceable though I did love Gary Busey and all the Busey-isms that made him a treasure, particularly in the 1980s when we could actually understand what the hell he was saying.

The film was helmed by Daniel Attias — marking his one and only feature film — though he’s made a good career working on television hundreds of shows like Homeland, Entourage and a variety of many others. Nothing really stands out in terms of his direction and it doesn’t have the best look, though given what he had to work with, it was commendable work.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4/5

This release comes with a matted slip cover.

Audio Commentaries:

• Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler of “The Kingcast” (NEW)
• Producer Martha De Laurentiis, Moderated by Michael Felcher
• Director Daniel Attias
• Isolated Score Selections and Audio Interview with Composer Jay Chattaway

All three of these tracks offer different perspectives. The first one, new to this release, gives her insights on the film’s production and there’s a good back and forth with Felcher asking pertinent questions so it does have a nice flow to it; Attias meanwhile is on the drier side though still somewhat interesting and Chattaway’s interview is pretty strictly for fans of movie scores.

New to this release is a commentary from two guys with from the podcast “The Kingcast” providing an outsider’s view and an appreciation for the movie.

Interviews:

• A Little Private Justice (11:51) — Actor Kent Broadhurst
• Cutting to the Bone (16:39) — Editor Daniel Loewenthal
• The Wolf Within (16:15) — Actor Everett McGill
• Full Moon Fever (21:03) — Special Effects Artists Matthew Mungle and Michael McCracken

The interviews with Broadhurst and Lowenthal are new to this Collector’s Edition, while McGill and Mungle/McCracken I assume came from an older release. Each one gives their memories on working on the film as well as give some background on their careers.

Also includes:

• Theatrical Trailer (1:27)
• TV Spot (0:31)
• Radio Spot (0:39)
• Still Gallery (6:20)

VIDEO – 4¾/5, AUDIO – 4¼/5

Shout Factory is once again releasing Silver Bullet, this time on 4K Ultra HD which, along with the included Blu-ray, a new 2023 transfer taken from the Original Camera Negative, the former getting aid with Dolby Vision and HDR. The picture here looks rather good, the natural film grain and noise still noticeable while colors, which are on the darker realm, show some flashes without appearing oversaturated.

The included DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track outputs clear dialogue levels and actually some good depth even for a singular track, with some highlights being when Haim rides a souped-up wheelchair or when he’s being chased by the werewolf in human form.

OVERALL — 3¼/5

Silver Bullet is by no means a good movie or even all that entertaining, though the acting from Busey and Haim were good and the effects work was fairly impressive considering the time period. I suppose if you’re a super-fan of Stephen King’s works and have an absolute love for werewolf stories, this might hit the right spot.