Grizzly Park is about a group of miscreant youths that are forced on a hiking trip through the eponymous park as part of their sentence (or something, I didn't really care).
The film is both written and directed by newcomer Tom Skull. Few good writers also make good directors, and unfortunately he is neither. The visual look of the film is passable, but the artistry of the shots and footage is bland and uninteresting.
And the writing is often uneven and boring, not to mention filled with dumb lines like this: "If a tree falls in the forest, do you hear the tree? I mean, how do you know it's been more than ten minutes, can you tell time by the sun or something?" A potentially important plot line of an escaped rapist/killer makes a cursory appearance and two homicides, only to be ended before it affects the main storyline in any real way. While his dispatchment might make sense if the ultimate direction of the movie wasn't clear from the beginning, here it just seems sloppy.
Add to that fact that all the characters are completely unlikeable, save for the ditsy Bebe (Emily Foxler) and Ranger Bob (Glenn Morshower, slumming here). This is a combination of the bad writing and mostly poor acting, but especially the writing. For instance, a buff, white-power twentysomething seems almost polite for the majority of the film, even towards Ty, the requisite black character.
Finally, this film commits the cardinal sin of horror movies: it was boring. At a scant 91 minutes (including credits), it should move pretty briskly, but the opening drags on, treating us to not one, not two, but three introductions to the characters, including a totally unnecessary cut to their mugshots. By the time the action gets going in earnest, some hour and seventeen minutes in, I just don't care anymore.
Nick Nunziata, founder and now-infrequent contributer to CHUD.com (which I refuse to read now since Devin Faraci took over and ruined the site), co-produced this film, and I must say that I'm disappointed in him. After running one of the most successful movie websites, it should be clear to him what works and doesn't work in a movie, but he seemed to strap rose-colored glasses on for this. Perhaps his next outing will be more productive.
Bottom line: Don't see this film.
The film is both written and directed by newcomer Tom Skull. Few good writers also make good directors, and unfortunately he is neither. The visual look of the film is passable, but the artistry of the shots and footage is bland and uninteresting.
And the writing is often uneven and boring, not to mention filled with dumb lines like this: "If a tree falls in the forest, do you hear the tree? I mean, how do you know it's been more than ten minutes, can you tell time by the sun or something?" A potentially important plot line of an escaped rapist/killer makes a cursory appearance and two homicides, only to be ended before it affects the main storyline in any real way. While his dispatchment might make sense if the ultimate direction of the movie wasn't clear from the beginning, here it just seems sloppy.
Add to that fact that all the characters are completely unlikeable, save for the ditsy Bebe (Emily Foxler) and Ranger Bob (Glenn Morshower, slumming here). This is a combination of the bad writing and mostly poor acting, but especially the writing. For instance, a buff, white-power twentysomething seems almost polite for the majority of the film, even towards Ty, the requisite black character.
Finally, this film commits the cardinal sin of horror movies: it was boring. At a scant 91 minutes (including credits), it should move pretty briskly, but the opening drags on, treating us to not one, not two, but three introductions to the characters, including a totally unnecessary cut to their mugshots. By the time the action gets going in earnest, some hour and seventeen minutes in, I just don't care anymore.
Nick Nunziata, founder and now-infrequent contributer to CHUD.com (which I refuse to read now since Devin Faraci took over and ruined the site), co-produced this film, and I must say that I'm disappointed in him. After running one of the most successful movie websites, it should be clear to him what works and doesn't work in a movie, but he seemed to strap rose-colored glasses on for this. Perhaps his next outing will be more productive.
Bottom line: Don't see this film.