"Grizzly Park" is a fun but somewhat flawed killer bear film.
**SPOILERS**
Out on a special mission, youths Bebe, (Emily Foxler) Ryan Forbes, (Kavan Reece) Ty Brown, (Shedrack Anderson III) Lola Sanchez, (Zulay Henao) Candy Reece, (Julie Skon) Kiki Saito, (Jelynn Rodriguez) Scab, (Randy Wayne) and Trickster, (Trevor Peterson) are lead by Ranger Bob, (Glenn Morshower) out into the wilderness to do their community service by cleaning up the state park. All trying to get along together, they begin to hike into the forest to the cabin where they will undergo their treatment, and after experiencing a few side-adventures, they make it to the cabin. After settling in, they realize that several of them have gone missing along the way, and it soon dawns on them that a killer bear has been stalking them the entire time and attacking the stragglers, forcing them to try to get out of the park alive and away from the bear.
The Good News: There was some good stuff when it really got going. The fact that when the bear does attack it usually results in positive attack scenes is a great move, allowing for some good stuff here and there. The first one, on the human killer incredibly early on in the film, is really good with the darkness, the stalking camera and growling sounds from the bear as well as the creature stumbling out after him to brawl around the campground before a brutal blow is quite enjoyable, and a later attack on stranded campers is just glorious. From the ensnaring foot-trap and the encroaching darkness, as well as them being lost in the wilderness and the wolves appearing at the foot of the trap before they attack, it creates a fantastic set-up that is admirably played off with the arrival of the creature and the resulting mayhem it unleashes. The main campground attack is just spectacular, pretty much containing nothing of fault and is overall the film's best feature. From the initial ambush of the stoner, which is the cruel punch-line to a joke set-up slightly earlier that is just played off nicely, with the colors of the air and the pawing at the head before the attack and eventual realization make for a classic scene, and once it gets to the others around the fire, it's just as much fun. With the atmosphere coming on strong with the fog rolling in, the antics of the individual in the bear suit, from the humorous to the serious and finally the bear attack, leaving several wounded before it starts off stalking the escapees in the log-cabin hideout is just a lot of fun. The suspense of waiting for an attack to happen that is bound to happen and checking for the appearance, as well as the ultra-brutal attack and the aftermath to the twist in the finale, where the appearances from the beginning are duped quite nicely and the final attack is another punch-line to an earlier-set-up, this whole part of the film is just too good and features nothing really wrong with it. The film does contain a few other good parts, namely the suspenseful trail-of-corpses-in-the-forest that is found, with the severed fingers being devoured by the local animals, the pile of uneaten meat on the ground and the severed leg and face found, the result is an insanely creepy moment that is nicely utilized here. The last part is the gore from the bear attacks, which are pretty brutal. From being chomped in the face to having their chest scratched open in one slice, arms scratched and torn off, bitten in half at the waist and a decapitation, it provides the gory goods. These here are the positives.
The Bad News: There was some pretty big problems to this one that held it down. One of the biggest, and most obvious one as well, is that the film is just way to slow in the first half to really get going at all, taking way too much time to finally get to the main bear attacks. The fact that there's four different times in which the people in here decide to go hiking around, as we go from the ranger station where they start off at to the resting spot, then they go marching through the woods to a waterfall in order to cope with events that transpired there, then off to the main cabin where they then realize the missing couple, who themselves have a hiking through the forest segment that's prominently featured. All of these are pretty pointless, just them going in a straight-line occasionally picking up a piece of trash but mostly talking amongst themselves about the torture of their assignment, and none of that translates into fun viewing and the repetition of these scenes is pretty off. There's also bits that don't really belong there, such as the inclusion of the skunk and that subplot, which is the reason for two more marching-through-the-woods scenes and the removal of that eliminates a bit more time that is freed up later, along with the killer's inclusion, the scenes of the group playing pranks on the ranger and him playing sympathetic with the one camper, so that the main flaw is then fixed. That is that the bear is barely in the film until the ending, which really can't happen all that much and keep the villain effective. That is what happens here, and it causes the film to suffer through the continued use of keeping the main point off-screen as long as it does. These here are the film's flaws.
The Final Verdict: While not overly problematic, there's enough good stuff here to overcome the flaws and become a relatively enjoyable killer bear film. Recommended to giant animal creature feature enthusiasts, those interested or lovers of cheesy horror films, while those looking for more serious fare should heed caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity
**SPOILERS**
Out on a special mission, youths Bebe, (Emily Foxler) Ryan Forbes, (Kavan Reece) Ty Brown, (Shedrack Anderson III) Lola Sanchez, (Zulay Henao) Candy Reece, (Julie Skon) Kiki Saito, (Jelynn Rodriguez) Scab, (Randy Wayne) and Trickster, (Trevor Peterson) are lead by Ranger Bob, (Glenn Morshower) out into the wilderness to do their community service by cleaning up the state park. All trying to get along together, they begin to hike into the forest to the cabin where they will undergo their treatment, and after experiencing a few side-adventures, they make it to the cabin. After settling in, they realize that several of them have gone missing along the way, and it soon dawns on them that a killer bear has been stalking them the entire time and attacking the stragglers, forcing them to try to get out of the park alive and away from the bear.
The Good News: There was some good stuff when it really got going. The fact that when the bear does attack it usually results in positive attack scenes is a great move, allowing for some good stuff here and there. The first one, on the human killer incredibly early on in the film, is really good with the darkness, the stalking camera and growling sounds from the bear as well as the creature stumbling out after him to brawl around the campground before a brutal blow is quite enjoyable, and a later attack on stranded campers is just glorious. From the ensnaring foot-trap and the encroaching darkness, as well as them being lost in the wilderness and the wolves appearing at the foot of the trap before they attack, it creates a fantastic set-up that is admirably played off with the arrival of the creature and the resulting mayhem it unleashes. The main campground attack is just spectacular, pretty much containing nothing of fault and is overall the film's best feature. From the initial ambush of the stoner, which is the cruel punch-line to a joke set-up slightly earlier that is just played off nicely, with the colors of the air and the pawing at the head before the attack and eventual realization make for a classic scene, and once it gets to the others around the fire, it's just as much fun. With the atmosphere coming on strong with the fog rolling in, the antics of the individual in the bear suit, from the humorous to the serious and finally the bear attack, leaving several wounded before it starts off stalking the escapees in the log-cabin hideout is just a lot of fun. The suspense of waiting for an attack to happen that is bound to happen and checking for the appearance, as well as the ultra-brutal attack and the aftermath to the twist in the finale, where the appearances from the beginning are duped quite nicely and the final attack is another punch-line to an earlier-set-up, this whole part of the film is just too good and features nothing really wrong with it. The film does contain a few other good parts, namely the suspenseful trail-of-corpses-in-the-forest that is found, with the severed fingers being devoured by the local animals, the pile of uneaten meat on the ground and the severed leg and face found, the result is an insanely creepy moment that is nicely utilized here. The last part is the gore from the bear attacks, which are pretty brutal. From being chomped in the face to having their chest scratched open in one slice, arms scratched and torn off, bitten in half at the waist and a decapitation, it provides the gory goods. These here are the positives.
The Bad News: There was some pretty big problems to this one that held it down. One of the biggest, and most obvious one as well, is that the film is just way to slow in the first half to really get going at all, taking way too much time to finally get to the main bear attacks. The fact that there's four different times in which the people in here decide to go hiking around, as we go from the ranger station where they start off at to the resting spot, then they go marching through the woods to a waterfall in order to cope with events that transpired there, then off to the main cabin where they then realize the missing couple, who themselves have a hiking through the forest segment that's prominently featured. All of these are pretty pointless, just them going in a straight-line occasionally picking up a piece of trash but mostly talking amongst themselves about the torture of their assignment, and none of that translates into fun viewing and the repetition of these scenes is pretty off. There's also bits that don't really belong there, such as the inclusion of the skunk and that subplot, which is the reason for two more marching-through-the-woods scenes and the removal of that eliminates a bit more time that is freed up later, along with the killer's inclusion, the scenes of the group playing pranks on the ranger and him playing sympathetic with the one camper, so that the main flaw is then fixed. That is that the bear is barely in the film until the ending, which really can't happen all that much and keep the villain effective. That is what happens here, and it causes the film to suffer through the continued use of keeping the main point off-screen as long as it does. These here are the film's flaws.
The Final Verdict: While not overly problematic, there's enough good stuff here to overcome the flaws and become a relatively enjoyable killer bear film. Recommended to giant animal creature feature enthusiasts, those interested or lovers of cheesy horror films, while those looking for more serious fare should heed caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity