GRIZZLY II: REVENGE (1983)
Tagline: The Stage Is Set... And The Dinner Is Served.
(Adventure, Sci-Fi, A Volcano) [R]
Note – Most of this movie was shot in 1983, but it was released in 2021 in the United States. The MPAA did not give this a rating, but if it had been released in the 80’s it probably would have been rated [R].
In this one, a giant Grizzly bear is on the prowl slicing and dicing campers, but Eileene Draygon is too busy to worry about that right now. The organizers do hire a specialized hunter named Bouchard, but if he fails to kill the beast that is just too bad. The National Park has a giant concert to put on and that is way more important.
That last sentence is sarcasm, in case you are reading this in the future and part of the society has destroyed the idea of humor altogether.
First off I think this film got a little traction in 2021 when it finally came out on streaming services because it had the likes of George Clooney (best known for OCEANS ELEVEN), Lauren Dern (best known for JURASSIC PARK), and even Charlie Sheen best known for going whacko and saying he was a warlock with tiger blood. However, if you are watching this for them, prepare to be disappointed. They are only in this movie for maybe 5 minutes. So just a heads up on that.
If you want to read about the crazy production issues this movie had, there is plenty out there to read online, but the main idea is that the post-production ran out of money and was never completed. The Cannon Film Group then bought the film to try and complete the post-production and release of the film, but they started having money woes and the idea was shelved. Eventually, Suzanne Nagy got the film completed so you can blame her for this cheese-filled 80’s time capsule.
Acting-wise this movie actually has several big stars and John Rhys-Davies (best known for INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK) who plays Bourchard actually does get quite a bit of screen time. I am not going to say he is great in this, but the camp is perfection. We also get the very competent Deborah Foreman (best known for APRIL FOOL’S DAY) in a few scenes as well as Louise Fletcher (best known for CRUEL INTENTIONS). Fletcher has been in 137 projects and is still acting here and there. She first broke into Hollywood in 1958. I don’t want to say this was ever going to win any awards, but overall the acting is fine.
Where this thing just kind of falls flat is in the second act. The dialog is dull and even when we finally meet Bouchard, you kind of sense even he can’t take on an 18-foot bear. It should also be noted, that for a killer bear movie, we don’t actually see much Grizzly. The score is rough and the music acts they got for this concert are un-“bearably”, ear bleeding, eyes popping out of your head, bad. This thing has some JAWS overtones like the original GRIZZLY, but never quite reaches its potential. For all of the time spent getting this together, it’s a lot like the original TRANSFORMERS cartoon series. The nostalgia is just absolutely glorious and it is fun to watch for a laugh, but when it comes to story-telling, it’s just not really that noteworthy(we had an episode where Powerglide married a human wife for instance). Sadly, even with this cast, it’s not worth going out of your way to find this and watch it.
The movies one great moment is a very brief shot of the bear near the end of the movie. Oh man, it’s pretty hilariously goofy and brilliant at the same time.
GRIZZLY II: REVENGE gets a 3 out of 7 from me. Probably not a great “horror-o-thon” movie unless you just really really want to see Lauren Dern whine for about 5 minutes.
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