Grizzly (1976)

An eighteen foot, two thousand pound Grizzly bear terrorizes campers and hikers at a state park. This frustrates the head Park Ranger (Christopher George) and decides to hunt it down. His efforts however were thwarted by the Park Supervisor (Joe Dorsey) and many drunk hunters into the areas. After the bear kills another campers, two rangers, a hunter and a little boy and his mother, The ranger employs his friend, a Naturalist (Richard Jaeckel) to find the bear and tranquilize it. But he gets killed. Finally with the help of a Helicopter Pilot (Andrew Prine)the ranger goes in pursuit to finally kill it with any means necessary with rifles and a rocket launcher. It is to the end when they realize the bear is much stronger than they imagined.

Bear Necessity...

If you're a fan of the animal attack films from the 70's, then Grizzly will satisfy. I remember attending the theatre as a kid for so many of these pictures (Jaws, Food of the Gods, Empire of the Ants, Orca, etc.). Those were the days--counting bodies and waiting for the next "cool kill." In the following decade, the animals would be replaced by an even greater nemesis--ourselves (in the form of slasher flicks).

Admittedly, many of the "animal attack" films were short on thrill and plot, and Grizzly can't claim to be original in any respect. Its screenplay borrows heavily from the success of Jaws, right down to the characters. Instead of Chief Brody battling a shark, we have Park Ranger Kelly matching wits with an ursine-sized foe. Grizzly also relies heavily upon the POV shot (point of view), where we get to see the unsuspecting prey through the bobbing perspective of the bear. Despite the clumsiness of these scenes, Grizzly has enough B-movie acting and thrills to rank near the top of the films in this particular genre. No, it's not anywhere close to being the masterpiece that Jaws is, but if you have an afternoon to kill--why not feast along with the hairy star of this film? Word of caution: best not to watch this one before the family camping trip. January 19, 2008

Why this movie scared me

This was the one movie that actually scared me when I saw it at the theatre. I was 6 or 7 years old and accompanied by my younger brother and grandparents. I guess, besides the fact that I was just a kid, the reason it scared me was that my grandparents found it humorous to insist that all of what I was seeing on the screen was real. I believed it and really had trouble sleeping that night. All I could think of was a bear smashing the bedroom window to get at me. Anyway, I find it interesting that so many other people see the similarities to Jaws as far as the characters go, because, for a long time, I thought I was the only one. I am glad to have finally seen extras on this film. I always wondered whether the bear was real, which it is. I also like the way the Jaws plotline was followed by not showing the whole bear until late in the movie. My advice is to see this movie before you by it. Although I enjoyed it, others may have a different opinion. September 8, 2007

Grizzly

Great movie but you have to keep in mind it's a classic. The scary scenes weren't as high tech then as they are now. A must have for a movie collector. July 26, 2007

Blast from the past!

This film is a very good film. I remember seeing this film at a Drive-In (yes!..there are still a few around today) back when i was a kid. Most folks might see this film as a "Jaws" rip off, but, what isn't today..lol..however, i think that this film is truly one of a kind (until this becomes a remake..oh brother!). However, I highly recommend this film to anybody that is into the B-Movie horror gender. Highly Recommended!! April 28, 2007

This is a classic....

This movie while being blasted as a Jaws-on-land ripoff was very successful when it was released in 1976 (made over $39 million on a budget of under $1 million). This is fun from start to finish. Lots of bear POV shots and plenty of gruesome deaths (some are a bit cheesy but that still works in this movie's favor). I have become a big nature attacks movie fan and this movie is a must own for fans of this genre. The recent release by Media Blasters/Shriek Show is top notch. April 22, 2007

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