Here's one of those genuine 'good/bad' movies which goes down best with a beer and a few friends. The direction is haphazard, the script is wincingly bad, the acting is soap-opera level and when it is finally revealed the monster is far too cute to be scary. Sharks are big, scary alien monsters. Bears meanwhile are rated by humans as second only to primates as the most attractive-looking (because they are so human-reminiscent) creatures. Note: The creature depicted on the DVD cover is indeed a fearsome-looking beast, but that is because it resembles less a bear than some sort of stylized werewolf-King Kong hybrid. In the actual movie, perhaps in an attempt to stall the inevitable full-frontal non-scary Bear footage (or maybe just to totally swipe the gradual introduction of the shark in 'Jaws'), we see very little of the critter for a while. This leads to a bizarre shot when a ranger goes for a dip in a waterfall and is grabbed from behind by the lurking bear. A big furry arm whips around her, anyway. Was the bear standing up, on a different level, behind a waterfall, waiting for a human to come along? It certainly wouldn't have been possible if he was standing on all fours. Look, this movie is full of stuff like this, and if you're into bad movies, you can't go past this one. Pair it with the (arguably) superior 'Prophecy' (1979) for the ultimate 'big bad bear' movie night.
Review of Grizzly
