Stop me if you’ve heard this one: an enormous animal unexpectedly kills a young woman. Other attacks follow, including one on a little boy. A law enforcement officer teams up with a cynical war veteran and an eccentric naturalist in an attempt to put a stop to the killing. Meanwhile, local authorities hamper their efforts because of fear of damage to the economy if news of the attacks becomes public….
Yup, you guessed it: GRIZZLY (1976)
#1 by PCachu on March 31, 2008 - 10:29 am
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Thanks for the pointer, Liz! Next time I’m out in the woods, I’ll have to remember to keep an eye out for the North American Exploding Grizzly Bear.
#2 by lyzard on March 31, 2008 - 1:05 pm
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I guess now we understand why Smokey the Bear was so obsessed with forest fires.
#3 by Briar on March 31, 2008 - 3:46 pm
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Ursus conflagarctus horribilis
#4 by lyzard on March 31, 2008 - 5:35 pm
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🙂
#5 by JessicaR on March 31, 2008 - 8:30 pm
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So, if Girdler had bothered to learn anything about bears, would that make him an Ursa Major?
(I’ll show myself out)
#6 by lyzard on March 31, 2008 - 8:41 pm
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Anyone know the emoticon for boom-tish?
#7 by Ed on April 1, 2008 - 12:19 am
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Another great Girdler review, Liz. I’d say that this is probably as good a killer bear film as you’re likely to find. Of course when the competition is Claws, The Prophecy and that weird thing Foywonder found a while ago with killer alien bears, that really isn’t saying much.
#8 by The Rev. D.D. on April 1, 2008 - 9:13 am
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Don’t forget Grizzly RAAAAAAGE.
(It’s not actually written that way on the DVD box, but I find it impossible to say [or even write] the title without putting a very loud and drawn-out emphasis on the word “rage. Try it, it’s fun!)
I haven’t seen all of >b?Savage Planet (aka the “Planet of the Alien Mutant Bears” movie), but what I saw was pretty ridiculous, albeit in a fun way. The explanation of how the MacGuffin was discovered is a howler, and the deaths were pretty bloody (even in the SFC cut) and goofy (several shots of a bear puppet head being rubbed against the “victim.”)
I haven’t seen Grizzly so I can’t compare the two.
#9 by lyzard on April 1, 2008 - 3:26 pm
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Thank you! I find that I’m applying the Keith Allison Yardstick Of Film Criticism to these things – i.e. while I haven’t yet seen a William Girdler film I would classify as “good” in the usual critical sense, I’m also yet to see one I wasn’t thoroughly entertained by.
You’re right, there is a strange dearth of killer bear films, considering the (comparative) ease of employing real bears. I love Prophecy, though, and it’s been far too long since I watched it. Claws has never been available here; I imagine I’ll succumb and track down a print sooner or later. I shall also take what the two of you say about Savage Planet as a recommendation.
Oh, and— Grizzly RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!!!!!!
Hey, you’re right! – it is fun!
#10 by The Rev. D.D. on April 1, 2008 - 8:11 pm
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Keep in mind I didn’t see all of Savage Planet, and it may have been a case of my simply stumbling in during the good stuff. For all I know, the first 45 minutes or so were horrendously boring. I get a feeling, though, that it was probably as ridiculous as the part I saw. (And the puppet head delighted me a lot.)
I have to say, I think your last few reviews have been stellar, Ms. Kingsley (and I mean stellar, even for you). Very involved and descripitve, and written in a way that really brings them to life. You seem….refreshed, somehow. Ever since your tag-team on FvJ I’ve noticed, in my opinion, an upswing in your work, taking it to great heights.
Maybe it’s just me.
The Rev. D.D.–bringing the RAAAAAAAAAAAAGE….er….fun for over 30 years
#11 by Blake Matthews on April 2, 2008 - 7:09 am
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Was the western film “Night of the Grizzly” in any way suspenseful or horrifying?
#12 by Blake Matthews on April 2, 2008 - 7:15 am
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Oh, and about the helicopter commentary: Did anyone ever notice that John Woo went one step further in “Broken Arrow” and blew up 4 helicopters?
#13 by lyzard on April 2, 2008 - 3:24 pm
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Well, he would. But really, they do all do it. Once you start looking for knocked down, blown over, blown up helicopters, like we do (yes, really), you realise what a absolute compulsion it’s become with film-makers.
My favourite aspect of all this is that the helicopter scene in Jaws 2 led (of course) to an ever funnier helicopter scene in L’Ultimo Squalo.
Haven’t seen Night Of The Grizzly, either. This conversation is exposing some embarrassing holes in my knowledge of bear films.
#14 by Blake Matthews on April 2, 2008 - 3:29 pm
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My favorite helicopter scene is from High Risk (aka Meltdown) where the rotor becomes detached and cuts a guy in half. That was pretty cool.
#15 by lyzard on April 2, 2008 - 3:35 pm
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I thank you very much, Rev, but my honest answer is, “not hardly”. In fact, I’ve ended up here because I’ve been having a difficult run personally, and I haven’t the energy for either slogging through things that need to be slogged through (I’m looking at you, Howling IV!), or thinking about things that need to be treated seriously. I feel bad that I haven’t done any actual science fiction for ages, but at the moment I’m just not up to it.
So what I’ve ended up doing is indulging myself with films I love but which don’t require any particular mental effort – and playing a kind of Bad Movie Word Association: So Seytan led me to Abby, and Abby led me to Grizzly – and now Grizzly has in fact led me somewhere unexpectedly depressing, so I might have to come up with something else again.
But I certainly do appreciate the support!
#16 by The Rev. D.D. on April 4, 2008 - 7:57 am
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Unexpectedly depressing? What ever could that be, we wonders?
I guess focusing on films you love in some manner is probably helping with the writing? I don’t know. Your very best reviews tend to be of movies you despise (Deep Blue Sea, some of the later Ft13th flims), but perhaps old friends are what you need right now, and the solace they bring is giving you some spirit that comes through in your words, lifting you up to an even-higher-than-usual quality of writing.
Or maybe I’m utterly full of @#$%.
P.S. Can’t blame you on being reluctant to slog through that particular werewolf movie. I picked it up during my junior year rental frenzy (own car + new Blockbuster membership = LOTS of movies rented that year) based on a trailer I saw on another video (so young and naive, to be suckered by a trailer!), and never stopped regretting that rental.
With that wasted 99 cents I could’ve rented Inframan or Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster again, dammit.