Horror-tober 7: Grizzly

As I stated in my original post for the blog, the picks for Creature Feature Friday this year are mostly animals going crazy, or "natural horror". This first one is definitely in the "natural horror" category. Joey's out of town for the weekend, so I watched this one with my bestie, Skyra.

The great outdoors. Young people enjoying the freedom and peace of nature. But in the woods lurks danger. 18 feet and 2,000 lbs of danger! When a couple of backpackers are killed by a bear, the park rangers realize they have more than just a black bear on their hands. A guy that calls himself a naturalist says that it is a very large grizzly. But there haven't been grizzlies in this part of the country for years, millennia even. But he is certain, it is the largest of all the grizzlies, a monster of a grizzly, I think there was even a hint that it was an "ancient" grizzly from the Pleistocene. Yeah, sure uh huh.

A lot of the 70's natural horror films kind of have a soft spot in my heart. I am not sure why because most aren't that great, but they are just so darn funny to me even when they are not meant to be. Also, they're just so much fun to write about, the hokey effects, the blatant nudity where there really is no reasoning for it, the cheesy music. And this one was no exception. It did not hold back on the gore or "camp" either.

Did you see what I did there? Because they have a tent and are...ah forget it. Anyway, this one starts off with the most ridiculous, chipper music. I thought I had started the wrong film. But shortly in we see our first bear on camper carnage with a severed arm.

Gore-tastic. The best part about the opening scenes basically until halfway through the movie is that you never "see" the bear. Scenes are shot from the bear's point of view and the attacks are done with a man in a bear suit, but it only ever shows the paws/claws. Pretty fine horror editing on that front. Later though, a real grizzly steps in as the star and although it makes sense, it gets a little hokey and turned into more on an action movie than a horror movie.

I get it, it's the 70's and we want an excuse for a boob shot. Remember that blatant nudity for seemingly no reason is kind of a trope? But does it really have to be the female park ranger? Really? She's out hunting the bear with her fellow ranger and boyfriend and decides she wants to skinny dip in the waterfall. Really? Come on. The naturalist barely reacting to hearing that two women were killed by a bear in the park and that it buried one was more realistic than that. "But bears do that anyway, they cover their kill with a shallow grave. Then they go away and come back later and finish eating."

Also, the bear sneaks up on her under the waterfall. Seriously? Why? Just, why? But whatever, I guess I can look past it because it is such a ridiculous movie anyway. Bonus pictures below showcasing two of the many ways you know it is from the 70's.

This reporter's mustache:

Main character (aka the "Hunk" of the film) with open shirt and chest hair:

The freeze frame I captured on this last one was just too perfect. That grimace. Anyway, Grizzly kept me entertained and honestly wasn't that bad when I just let myself get into how completely ridiculous it really was. 

Skyra and I agree on rating for this one: