Grizzly Park (2008)

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.

Director:

Tom Skull

Writer:

Tom Skull

Stars:

Glenn Morshower, Shedrack Anderson III, Susan Blakely

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Morshower	...	Ranger Bob
Shedrack Anderson III	...	Ty (as Shedrack Anderson)
Susan Blakely	...	Unhappy Camper
Brody the Bear	...	Grizzly Bear
Ryan Culver	...	Ranger Mike
Trevor Peterson	...	Trickster (as Treavor Peterson)
Whitney Cummings	...	News Reporter
Emily Baldoni	...	Bebe (as Emily Foxler)
Zulay Henao	...	Lola
Rance Howard	...	Ranger Howard
Edward Maldomado	...	Raoul
Kavan Reece	...	Ryan Forbes III
Jelynn Sophia	...	Kiki (as Jelynn Rodriguez)
Will Fredo Rosa	...	Tito
Julie Skon	...	Candy

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

forest | park | serial killer | waterfall | cabin in the woods | 

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Taglines:

Eight troubled young people. Six days community service. It's gonna be a bear.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grizzly - Terror na Floresta

Filming Locations:

Abingdon, Virginia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ScatterScream Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First time writer/director Tom Skull was found by accident at a film festival by producer Belle Avery. Skull handed her his home movie from when he was 8 years old, which won the heart of Avery.

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Connections

References SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)

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Soundtracks

I Met a Bear
Performed by Twin Sisters

User Reviews

This ain't no Gentle Ben!

2008's "Grizzly Park" piqued my interest because I liked the trailer (see it on IMDb) and it was shot near the Mt. Rogers region in SW Virginia & NE Tennessee (Marion, VA, and Backbone Rock Recreation Area, TN), which is one of the places I vacationed last summer.

THE PLOT: Eight delinquent youths from the city are assigned community service at Grizzly Park, CA, chaperoned by no-nonsense Ranger Bob. What they don't know is that there's an escaped killer on the loose, as well as a killer grizzly!

The 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 couldn'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 "Sasquatch Mountain" and (much less so) "Flu Birds," 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.

Despite the negative comments there are a handful of positive points:

• Gorgeous late Summer/early Fall locations in SW Virginia & 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; you'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 he's supposedly a hardcore "white power" racist. His indoctrination is shattered, however, when he discovers himself falling for the Hispanic Lola, which gives indication that he's actually a very smart young man. This leads to a beautiful and touching scene between the two. I wasn't expecting this in a Grade-C campy gorefest. - There's no CGI. The bear is real, except for a couple parts where there'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 don'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 didn't find it shocking or scary at all; in fact, sometimes I just busted out laughing, but that'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 couldn't very well take the shocks & gore serious. Yet this doesn't mean it's not entertaining. - The old campfire classic "I Met a Bear" is utilized a couple times during the movie and fully during the end credits, performed here by Twin Sisters .

For those who argue that the murderer subplot seemed totally pointless: It's more than just a red herring and ties into the media's theory for the so-called murders revealed at the end, a doofy bear costume being a chief piece of evidence.

The DVD features a handful of "making of" extras with cast and crew, including the 1300 lb. bear, Brody; each one is only a few minutes in length. You'll marvel at how close the trainer and other crewmembers get to the bear. I'm glad each segment is short because I only prefer the gist of it; I don't care to see a friggin' movie on the making of the movie, if you know what I mean; unless of course it's something like "Apocalypse Now."

BOTTOM LINE: Despite being a semi-campy Grade-C film with a fairly uneventful first hour and some bad writing, pacing, etc., "Grizzly Park" possesses a curious 'cult' 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 "I Met a Bear" and the gorgeous Eastern locations, plus there's at least one touching, nigh reverent romantic scene, no kidding.

Part of me wants to rate this 6/10 Stars since, in many ways, "Grizzly Park" delivers the goods, but I'd feel too guilty because this isn't really a good movie. It's equal parts boring, dumb, eccentric, fun, inept, impressive and fascinating. A guilty pleasure that will likely develop a small cult following who'll openly admit it's not good, but like it anyway (sort of).

GRADE: C