Silver Bullet
Intrada Special Collection Volume ISC 486

Jay Chattaway horror score is newly expanded on CD! Paramount releases, Dino De Laurentiis presents, Stephen King scripts from his own novelette, “Cycle Of The Werewolf”, Daniel Attias directs, Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Corey Haim star.

Jay Chattaway horror score is newly expanded on CD! Paramount releases, Dino De Laurentiis presents, Stephen King scripts from his own novelette, “Cycle Of The Werewolf”, Daniel Attias directs, Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Corey Haim star.

Disabled pre-teen Marty Coslaw is convinced he knows who - or what - is behind the numerous grisly murders happening in his small home town in Maine. Wheeling about in his motorized wheel chair, given to him by his alcoholic Uncle Red and christened the Silver Bullet, Marty seeks proof of the existence of werewolves.

Needing convincing are Marty’s loving but frustrated sister, his mom, the town Sheriff, the reverend and especially Uncle Red. One of those individuals is indeed a bona fide werewolf. King’s tale melds terror with friendship in equal doses, with tinges of family nostalgia tucked behind the scares.

Composer Jay Chattaway anchors his score around a highly melodic major-key theme for the Silver Bullet that plays both in scenes with Marty on the move and serves as a freewheeling vocal. Another more emotional layer of the score comes with a minor-key theme, gentle and melancholy, which brings a sweet-sad timbre in key scenes, particularly when Marty’s sister seeks evidence supporting his claims and, in a highlight, when Uncle Red has another Silver Bullet prepared, the kind that shoots from a gun.

In balance are the intense cues surrounding the mysterious killings, including some riveting chase cues, culminating in a fierce showdown between Marty with Uncle Red vs. the werewolf.

The score covers considerable territory but remains cohesive via the primary musical motifs that recur throughout. Intrada presents Chattaway’s score courtesy Paramount Pictures, expanded from the previous issue and remastered from the original three-channel stereo mixes made by Alec Head in April & May 1985 at The Carriage House.

John Takis offers informative notes, Kay Marshall designs strong packaging with flipper-style booklet cover. Orchestrations by Barb Luby.

Jay Chattaway composes, conducts. Intrada Special Collection CD available while quantities and interest remain!

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In the fall of 1985, composer Jay Chattaway (Maniac, Star Trek) made a strong impression on film music enthusiasts with two orchestral scores, the muscular Chuck Norris action picture Invasion U.S.A. (previously released by Intrada) and the Paramount Pictures motion picture Stephen King's Silver Bullet.

The score to Silver Bullet is anchored around the theme for protagonist Marty – one of Chattaway's most tender, heartfelt themes, which eventfully collides with the more sinister, stalking and attacking aspects of the score, featuring a striking mix of orchestra and electronics.
Highlights of the score include 'The Hunt' which is reminiscent of his Invasion score, 'Looking For Mr. One Eye' with its forlorn guitar solo, and 'The Ball Game And The Chase' with an urgent, heroic version of Marty's theme.

At the time of the film's release, Varese Sarabande released a 31-minute album of highlights, later issued on CD. For this release, Intrada has worked from the original session masters vaulted at Paramount. Reassembled and sequenced in film order, the album runs 56 minutes.

In the film, the central character is Marty Coslaw (Corey Haim), a wheelchair-bound preteen in the small town of Tarker’s Mills, Maine. Marty’s key relationships are with his sister, Jane (Megan Follows), and his eccentric, alcoholic Uncle Red (Gary Busey). Red is a major influence on Marty, gifting him a souped-up, motorized wheelchair dubbed the “Silver Bullet.'
Tarker’s Mills is subject to a string of unsolved, monthly, brutal murders. Undeterred, Marty sneaks out one night and finds himself face-to-fangs with a bona fide werewolf—only escaping when a firework gifted to him by Red puts out one of the creature’s eyes.
Realizing that this injury can help identify the werewolf in human form, Marty enlists Jane to help canvas the town, not realizing that the hunt goes both ways...

Intrada ISC 486

More info at: Official Web Site Intrada Records