a.k.a. Killer Grizzly
91 minutes / Color / Not Rated
The Culprit(s): An eighteen-foot tall bruin that has acquired a taste for human flesh!
The Plot: After two female hikers are killed and eaten at a state park, by what is believed to be an amazingly large Grizzly Bear, park ranger Michael Kelly takes the case and attempts to track down the rogue bear. However, he and his fellow rangers aren't nearly enough to stop the hungry grizzly's killing spree, so they enlist the aid of an insane naturalist named Arthur Scott (Richard Jaeckel, who also starred in William Girdler's "Day of the Animals"), who tries to get into his quarry's head by dressing in bearskins and communing with nature. Along with a helicopter pilot named Don Stober, Ranger Mike's chances of finding and putting down the rogue bear seem to improve. Unfortunately for the bear-hunting trio, their prey is smarter than they are, and the bear continues to be one step ahead of its hunters, even up to the final moments of the film. By the time the climax rolls around, Arthur and Don are dead and its up to Mike to kill the rampaging grizzly or become its next feast. When his trusty scoped rifle fails to put the bear down, he opens the door to a nearby helicopter and pulls out..... a bazooka?! Yup! He pulls out a friggin' bazooka, and sends Not-So-Gentle Ben to the Jellystone Park in the sky.
Why it made the list: William Girdler was a visionary director, and I can only imagine what other cinematic oddities he could've cranked out, had he not died tragically in a helicopter crash in 1978. "Grizzly" is an almost unapologetic rip-off of "JAWS," that derives so much from Spielberg's classic film, that you wonder how it escaped a lawsuit from Universal. The only real change is the location (i.e. dry land instead of the ocean) and the type of animal that's eating people (i.e. a big grizzly, instead of a big shark). Everything else is pretty much blatantly stolen from "JAWS," including: the use of point of view shots when the bear stalks and/or attacks its victims, the inclusion of a trio of heroes that are hunting the film's menace, the "beaches (or in this case, state park's campgrounds) need to stay open" plot point, and finally, the complete destruction of the film's antagonist via an explosion. Hell, even the bear's them music sounds similar to John Williams' immortal "JAWS" theme.
However, unlike "JAWS," this film plays more like a cheap slasher film, since the bear stalks its victims, then lashes out with its deadly claw when they least suspect it. (Ummm... how would a one ton bear that's more than twice as tall as an NBA player sneak up on someone? The mind boggles!) The scenes where people are attacked and/or killed are pretty clumsy, and end up eliciting laughs instead of screams. But there are two kills in the film that actually pull off the horrific element fairly well. The first features the mauling of a small, bunny-loving boy, who ends up getting bear-hugged (quite literally I assure you). He loses a leg, then gets to watch the murderous bear kill his mother. This scene is definitely handled clumsily, but it is so damned ballsy, that you just sort of forgive it. The second scene I'd like to mention features a woman getting yanked out of her tent in the middle of the night and brutalized by the uber-violent grizzly. Her husband looks on in horror and screams as she is lifted into the air and violently shaken back and forth by her unseen assailant.
But these are pretty much the only truly serious moments in this fun but flawed exploitation flick / rip-off. The rest is so darned ridiculous and cheesy, that you can easily forget you just saw a women get ravaged by a bear.... or that a small boy was physically and mentally disfigured for life, after Winnie the Pooh's bloodthirsty cousin paid a visit to his house.....
Why YOU should watch it: Rather than guilt you into seeing this movie because its director died while trying to bring yet another entertaining film to the American public, I'll just rattle off a few highlights that make this a surefire must see film. First of all, you get to see people get attacked by an oversized (and totally unconvincing) bear claw. This bear is a definite righty, and uses his dominant claw to drag his victims to their offscreen demises, including an attractive blonde ranger who just had to strip down and bathe in a waterfall. Then there's the various scenes of bear-on-human brutality throughout the film that range from being delightfully absurd, to genuinely chilling. I think my favorite kill in the film is when Arthur Scott (Richard Jaeckel) is attacked by the bear. Arthur is knocked out of the saddle after his horse is beheaded by the grizzly, then gets mauled and buried in a shallow grave to serve as a snack for later. Arthur eventually wakes up and digs himself out of the ground, but before he can thank God for being alive, that pesky bear shows up to finish the job. (Doh!)
And to top it all off, the bear is blown away with a f*ckin' bazooka! What other movie has ever been gutsy enough to have the lead character pull out an anti-tank weapon and kill a (formerly) endangered species?! No wonder this was the highest grossing independent film of all time.... until John Carpenter's "Halloween" came around that is.
Is it worthy of a remake? I think this one could stand a remake, as most recent attempts to make killer bear movies have been utter failures. ("Grizzly Rage," I'm looking in your direction.) If someone in Hollywood does get the ball rolling for a "Grizzly" remake, then I think they should strictly make it a serious and straightforward horror flick. I don't mind if they make it a little tongue-in-cheek, but I think they should completely shy away from making it a campy throwback to the ecological horror flicks of the 70's... that is, unless Quentin Tarantino and/or Robert Rodriguez got involved.....
The countdown to number one continues tomorrow with a classic Roger Corman produced knockoff of "Jaws." Don't miss it!
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