Another October Is Here
Well, it’s that time of year again…October. As much as I hate seeing summer go, somehow by September I’m usually ready for a change. Even though that means winter is close by, there are still those few months of autumn in between where everything is just right. It’s not too hot or too cold, the leaves start to turn painting the skyline with brilliant shades of red and orange, and of course, there is Halloween…the day every horror fan counts down to every year.I usually try to make the most of this month by doing all sorts of things that helps bring out the Halloween spirit. Putting up decorations is a good way to get things going, and of course there is carving jack-o-lanterns, getting costumes, etc. But there is one thing I do every year that kind of signifies the beginning of the season for me…and that is watching Silver Bullet.
I know, that sounds weird. Silver Bullet isn’t necessarily the epitome of a Halloween movie, nor is it even a great movie (certainly not King’s best adaptation), but for some reason it works for me. Although I could bore you with all my theories as to why that is, I will say that I think it started when I was 11 and watched this movie while home alone one Wednesday evening. That was the night my parents went to choir practice at church and left me home alone. Coincidentally, those were also the nights that Fox showed horror movies. Needless to say, I spent many a Wednesday night glued to the television scaring myself senseless, waiting for my parents to come home…good times indeed.
So one night (October 26, 1988 – but who’s counting? 
) I tuned in and saw Silver Bullet. I don’t think it was the first time I had seen it, but it was definitely one that I remember the most. For as cheesy as that movie is, I’ve always liked it. Maybe it’s the fact that it takes place over the course of a year so you see the town change with the seasons. Or maybe because it had a cool werewolf, and I’m a sucker for werewolves. Or perhaps it’s because Corey Haim had a kick-ass wheelchair that I wished I could take for a spin. Who knows…all I know is that I liked it, and that night it just felt right.
I ended up taping the movie that night and when the next year rolled around I watched it again. The next year, I did the same thing…and so on, and so forth. And every year, I watched the same recording…commercials and all. It just became this ritual and eventually October wouldn’t feel the same until I popped that in the VCR and watched it.
Now, almost 20 years later, I don’t think one year has gone by where I did not watch Silver Bullet at least once in October. However, gone is that old ratty tape and in its place a pristine version of the film on DVD. Sure, it’s uncut with all the blood and foul language…but it’s not the same. It doesn’t have all of those old commercials on it, or that cool trailer for Halloween 2 that Fox was airing on Halloween night, or even that kind of bad tracking that comes with old tapes. But it still does the trick and helps me get into that Halloween mood.
So this weekend I plan on kicking off my October with a late night viewing of Silver Bullet. Of course now it will be in my own house, with my wife and daughter sleeping soundly upstairs. But I will be down in my room, lights off and basking in the glow of the tv. And for an hour and a half, I’ll be 11 years old again.
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I could never get into Silver Bullet. I remember buying the VHS and watching it with my Dad. We both turned it off when the vampire started punching the guy into the mist.
Funny, though. I do the same with Halloween. Difference is I still have my original copy. It gets me through the day.
Wow, I can’t believe I just said vampire. I’m gonna go to sleep.
That was a cool ass story..Lol I love that movie and yes of corse I have the DVD..But who cares?! right?! I get made fun of all the time , because it’s so old. It was a childhood fav, of mine and I will pass it down to my children! rock out!
yeah that was a neat story man. for some reason i always have to watch the original halloween that i saw when i was about 10 or so. im only sixteen years old and that was the movie that scared me when i was a youngin’ lol.
Great movie!! One of my all-time favs and a definite classic to watch at Halloween! Did you know that part of it was filmed in Wilmington, NC? Same place the 1986 Sammi Curr classic “Trick or Treat” was filmed, and not to mention “Dawson’s Creek”!
Great story… brings back memories of myself around 1988 watching a dubbed copy of Nightmare on Elm St. 3 on VHS non stop.
God, I love Silver Bullet. My personal favorite werewolf movie. Sure, as you said, it has it’s flaws, but still frightens me to this day. I remember my older brother bringing home the vhs from the local Mom and Pop video store (They had those giant vhs boxes for some of the horror movies, remember those?) . I asked him what it was, and he would never tell me, would only tell me we had to watch it after dark. Did I mention this was on the night of a full moon and at the time lived wayyy out in the boonies? It was one of those nights where the moon was so bright you could have read a book outside in the moonlight.
Well, after it was sufficiently dark, my brother pops in the movie and the fun begins. I was fine through most of the movie until Marty got to the bridge over the pond. See, we had a dock over a small pond on our property, VERY similar to that. When the werewolf was approaching him with his paws/hands outstretched, ALL I could think of was being on our dock and that happening to me. I could never go there again, without hearing that music , Dunnnnnn Dun, Dunnnn Dun.
Needless to say after that night, anytime I would be riding my bike down our dirt road, exploring out in the woods, or being at the pond after dark, Rev. Lowe was always there with me.
So now all we need is a ‘Silver Bullet’ SHIRT!
Awesome story, man… Thanks for sharing! Funny that you bring up movie-watching rituals, as I have a similar one, only it is for December. Back in 1985, I remember catching GREMLINS on HBO near Christmas time. Of course, since I was so young, it scared the crap out of me… But, for some reason, I found that I still enjoyed it immensely, and I taped it a day or two later… That movie ended up being a gateway into horror for me, and even though it made me sleep with the lights on for a long time, I watched the heck out of it. Though I don’t think my parents ever understood why, but it actually became a Christmas tradition for me, and it’s one that I still follow to this day. Of course, like you, my old VHS dub wore out eventually, and was replaced by a retail VHS, which has since been replaced by a couple DVD versions, and now a Blu-ray… Haha… But, regardless of the format, I still look forward to putting the movie in every Christmas and feeling like a kid all over again.