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.