Rating: C+
Dir: Burke Doeren
Star: Charles Esten, Oded Fehr, Brec Bassinger, Lauren Call
Chris let out a decisive snort on seeing the “Based on a true story” caption with which this opens. I can’t blame her, for this has been used as an excuse for film-makers to make up whatever they want, going back at least to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Since then, it has become a cliché, and viewers have – as Chris’s reaction proves – become increasingly sceptical about such claims. This, however, is more honest than most. For there was, indeed, an unprecedented double grizzly attack in Glacier National Park, Montana, during the summer of 1967. It left a pair of 19-year-old women dead, both employees at local lodges, who had gone camping in the area with friends.
The movie’s general adherence to the truth is something of a double-edged sword. This is laudable, from a point of view of artistic integrity; it feels refreshing to see a film which respects the “based on a true story” label, and earns it. On the other hand, reality always acts as a damper on dramatic license. The closer you hew to the facts, the more they are likely to interfere with your plot. Reality rarely follows a convenient three-act structure. In this case, there’s no particular climax, and a lack of dramatic conflict. Consequently, you could argue you would be better off watching a documentary about the topic. There’s a good one by PBS, called Glacier Park’s Night of the Grizzlies on YouTube.
Indeed, I wonder if the doc helped inspire this. There are highly specific bits in common, such as the mention of park employees being forbidden to have “Beatles-type” haircuts. However, this is still a well-constructed and respectful – maybe too respectful? – depiction of that night’s events. Almost all the characters we meet were actually there, such as head ranger Gary Bunney (Easten), novice employee Joan Devereaux (Call), or vacationing surgeon Dr. John Lindberg (Fehr) and his nurse wife. This is very much an ensemble piece, going wide rather than deep in its depiction. The attacks take place off-screen, though the reactions of the people seeing the aftermath sell it well. One victim does die from her injuries on-screen, and that is another effective moment. But it’s less exploitative than most in the genre.
The decision to avoid a significant depiction of the attacks themselves does simplify the process. There’s no real need for a fake or CGI bear: instead, there’s real animals, albeit very rarely seen in the same shot as the humans. You do get one cool shot where someone is filming the group, and a bear suddenly looms into view (top). It’s a small pleasure, and that’s likely what you should expect here, rather than carnage and mayhem. A less honest film-maker might have added extra maulings, since two is a low number by genre standards. It’s testament to Doeren’s integrity that he didn’t. But I might have preferred a bending of truth, for artistic effect.
[The film will be available on Digital & DVD from 2nd February]