Grizzly Park (2008)

Grizzly Park: Directed by Tom Skull. With Glenn Morshower, Shedrack Anderson III, Susan Blakely, Brody the Bear. Eight young adults are sent to do community service at Grizzly Park. There, they are hunted by an escaped serial killer along with the animals of the forest.

“2008u0026#39;s u0026quot;Grizzly Parku0026quot; piqued my interest because I liked the trailer (see it on IMDb) and it was shot near the Mt. Rogers region in SW Virginia u0026amp; NE Tennessee (Marion, VA, and Backbone Rock Recreation Area, TN), which is one of the places I vacationed last summer.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTHE PLOT: Eight delinquent youths from the city are assigned community service at Grizzly Park, CA, chaperoned by no-nonsense Ranger Bob. What they donu0026#39;t know is that thereu0026#39;s an escaped killer on the loose, as well as a killer grizzly!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie starts out great with a quote of 2 Kings 2:23-25, which refers to the occasion where a bunch of youths jeered the prophet Elisha and his baldness. When he couldnu0026#39;t take it any more, Elisha cursed them and two bears came out of the forest, mauling 42 kids. The following opening credits sequence is creative and well done, the music too. At this point I was wondering if I may have stumbled upon a hidden gem, like u0026quot;Sasquatch Mountainu0026quot; and (much less so) u0026quot;Flu Birds,u0026quot; entertaining Grade-B creature-features that shoot for more depth than the norm (see my review of each). From there, however, the film derails into serious C-Grade territory with bad dialogue, a mildly campy approach, lousy pacing and no suspense. Fortunately the film makes up for it in the last act, the final 30 minutes or so, which is a killer grizzly gorefest, but you have to slog through a semi-uneventful first hour to get there.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDespite the negative comments there are a handful of positive points:u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003culu003eu003cliu003eGorgeous late Summer/early Fall locations in SW Virginia u0026amp; NE Tennessee; although the story takes place in California. – A good cast of women: a brunette, a blond, a Hispanic and an Asian. The brunette, Bebe (Emily Foxler), struck me as a likable character who unlocked my compassion and favor despite being a seemingly total airhead (until the end, that is, which ruined it; youu0026#39;ll know what I mean when you see it). The Hispanic girl, Lola (Zulay Henao), is the real beauty here and the viewer is treated to some quality eyecandy. – One white dude, Scab (Randy Wayne), turns out to be slightly likable, even though heu0026#39;s supposedly a hardcore u0026quot;white poweru0026quot; racist. His indoctrination is shattered, however, when he discovers himself falling for the Hispanic Lola, which gives indication that heu0026#39;s actually a very smart young man. This leads to a beautiful and touching scene between the two. I wasnu0026#39;t expecting this in a Grade-C campy gorefest. – Thereu0026#39;s no CGI. The bear is real, except for a couple parts where thereu0026#39;s a human stand-in. – Like I said, the last act features some hardcore gore, like one of the girls being bit in half with her entrails laying loose, heads getting bit in half, etc. I donu0026#39;t watch these types of movies for the gore, but some like it. The only thing is, although the gore is very extreme in the last 25 minutes I didnu0026#39;t find it shocking or scary at all; in fact, sometimes I just busted out laughing, but thatu0026#39;s mainly because of the campy tone more than anything. In other words, since the filmmakers deliver the goods in a semi-serious this-is-all-a-joke manner I couldnu0026#39;t very well take the shocks u0026amp; gore serious. Yet this doesnu0026#39;t mean itu0026#39;s not entertaining. – The old campfire classic u0026quot;I Met a Bearu0026quot; is utilized a couple times during the movie and fully during the end credits, performed here by Twin Sisters .u003c/liu003eu003c/ulu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor those who argue that the murderer subplot seemed totally pointless: Itu0026#39;s more than just a red herring and ties into the mediau0026#39;s theory for the so-called murders revealed at the end, a doofy bear costume being a chief piece of evidence.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe DVD features a handful of u0026quot;making ofu0026quot; extras with cast and crew, including the 1300 lb. bear, Brody; each one is only a few minutes in length. Youu0026#39;ll marvel at how close the trainer and other crewmembers get to the bear. Iu0026#39;m glad each segment is short because I only prefer the gist of it; I donu0026#39;t care to see a frigginu0026#39; movie on the making of the movie, if you know what I mean; unless of course itu0026#39;s something like u0026quot;Apocalypse Now.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBOTTOM LINE: Despite being a semi-campy Grade-C film with a fairly uneventful first hour and some bad writing, pacing, etc., u0026quot;Grizzly Parku0026quot; possesses a curious u0026#39;cultu0026#39; ambiance highlighted by a great opening credits sequence (big deal, huh?) and a violently gory climax. I like the women (Lola!), the real bear, no CGI, the campfire classic u0026quot;I Met a Bearu0026quot; and the gorgeous Eastern locations, plus thereu0026#39;s at least one touching, nigh reverent romantic scene, no kidding.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePart of me wants to rate this 6/10 Stars since, in many ways, u0026quot;Grizzly Parku0026quot; delivers the goods, but Iu0026#39;d feel too guilty because this isnu0026#39;t really a good movie. Itu0026#39;s equal parts boring, dumb, eccentric, fun, inept, impressive and fascinating. A guilty pleasure that will likely develop a small cult following whou0026#39;ll openly admit itu0026#39;s not good, but like it anyway (sort of).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGRADE: C”