Rating: C
Dir: Richard Bansbach, Robert E. Pearson
Star: Jason Evers, Carla Layton, Leon Ames, Glenn Sipes
The title is such a shameless knock-off of a certain, highly popular animal attack film from a couple of years previously, it’s almost endearing. Yet to the writers’ credit, it does choose to be more than a total copy. In particular, there’s something personal about the man-bear relationship at its core, whose closest inspiration is Herman Melville’s doorstop novel, Moby Dick. As a result, I would be inclined to call this Grizzly Dick, except that sounds like an unpleasant STD, requiring a lengthy course of antibiotics. It begins with poachers wounding a bear in Alaska, causing it to go on a rampage, which begins by crippling logger Jason Monroe (Evers). The subsequent PTSD breaks up his marriage to Chris (Layton).
Five years later, the beast is still at large, occasionally popping up to maul the unwary, and has acquired an almost supernatural reputation as a “devil bear”. Jason re-enters the picture when it attacks a boy-scout camp, severely injuring his son, Buck. After other efforts to capture or kill the animal fail, Jason heads out into the wilderness to hunt his nemesis down, along with the local commissioner (Ames) and Chris’s new romantic interest, Howard Lockhart (Sipes). There’s also native American Henry, who imbues their prey with spiritual significance, tying it to his tribal belief in the Kushtaka, a shape-shifting creature. Due to various misfortunes, it’s largely down to Jason, albeit with a side-order of flare gun from Chris.
Genuinely filmed in Alaska, rather than faking it in British Columbia, the landscapes here are impressive. Cinematographer Chuck D. Keen, also co-writer and producer, does them justice. There’s some effort put into developing the characters, and the “folk horror” elements help explain some of the bear’s more, ah, mystical abilities. For example, when a group of scientists arrive, intending to trap the creature, it doesn’t just slaughter them, it leaves one victim dangling from the rafters as a surprise for the Commissioner when he opens their cabin door. Who knew bears could do that? On the other hand, the film under-estimates them, saying grizzlies can’t climb. Reality? “Three of the 23 documented bear-induced human injuries in [Alaskan national park] Denali involved grizzlies pulling humans out of trees.”
The problems are when the bear and humans get together, with multiple, staggeringly unconvincing efforts at attacks. [There is some decent footage of bears apparently fighting each other] This is particularly true at the end. In the final confrontation, it’s painfully obvious Jason and the live bear are never in the same shot. Much of this is filmed in slow-motion, likely in an effort to increase tension. It doesn’t, instead giving the viewer too much time to observe the flaws, then consider them at length. It’s a particularly underwhelming way to finish things, after I felt there had been more effort to do things right, than I expected from the title. Though the overuse of flashbacks is certainly not among the positive elements.