Grizzly Park (2008) Reviews

• No masterpiece, but entertaining

  allgood_20002008-05-31

  It seemed like this movie was a PG-rated family comedy for most of the way through (save for language and a few sparse kills), and then they set a hungry grizzly bear loose on the characters in the last ten minutes of the movie. I would not have had a problem with this if there had been more character development, but the first half of the movie was wasted with the group walking around picking up trash, without much suspense or dialogue. Although Glenn Morshower was the star of the movie, I thought his time on screen prevented the development of the other characters. It also seemed like they killed some of the more interesting characters too early in the movie. All in all, I felt that there was more that could of have been done to make the story and the characters more interesting. Grizzly Park is by no means a masterpiece of cinema, but it did keep me entertained. It's a good movie to watch with friends and laugh at or make sarcastic commentary. The movie was not terrible, but there was definitely room for improvement.

• Not worth the DVDs it was burned on

  JMAN-82008-02-26

  Grizzly Park is about a group of miscreant youths that are forced on a hiking trip through the eponymous park as part of their sentence (or something, I didn't really care). The film is both written and directed by newcomer Tom Skull. Few good writers also make good directors, and unfortunately he is neither. The visual look of the film is passable, but the artistry of the shots and footage is bland and uninteresting. And the writing is often uneven and boring, not to mention filled with dumb lines like this: "If a tree falls in the forest, do you hear the tree? I mean, how do you know it's been more than ten minutes, can you tell time by the sun or something?" A potentially important plot line of an escaped rapist/killer makes a cursory appearance and two homicides, only to be ended before it affects the main storyline in any real way. While his dispatchment might make sense if the ultimate direction of the movie wasn't clear from the beginning, here it just seems sloppy. Add to that fact that all the characters are completely unlikeable, save for the ditsy Bebe (Emily Foxler) and Ranger Bob (Glenn Morshower, slumming here). This is a combination of the bad writing and mostly poor acting, but especially the writing. For instance, a buff, white-power twentysomething seems almost polite for the majority of the film, even towards Ty, the requisite black character. Finally, this film commits the cardinal sin of horror movies: it was boring. At a scant 91 minutes (including credits), it should move pretty briskly, but the opening drags on, treating us to not one, not two, but three introductions to the characters, including a totally unnecessary cut to their mugshots. By the time the action gets going in earnest, some hour and seventeen minutes in, I just don't care anymore. Nick Nunziata, founder and now-infrequent contributer to CHUD.com (which I refuse to read now since Devin Faraci took over and ruined the site), co-produced this film, and I must say that I'm disappointed in him. After running one of the most successful movie websites, it should be clear to him what works and doesn't work in a movie, but he seemed to strap rose-colored glasses on for this. Perhaps his next outing will be more productive. Bottom line: Don't see this film.

• Grisly prank

  Abominog2008-02-27

  Finally I acquired an opportunity to dig my teeth into the anticipated DVD release of Grizzly Park, which I grabbed in a local video store without reservations after having read a couple of positive reviews on an advanced screening of this latest monster flick. As I expected the film is packed with many obligatory elements and features that make up for a good horror movie: gorgeous scenery, murderer on the loose, deadly giant bear, severed heads and limbs and, of course, a handful of screaming hot chicks. The acting is decent, with not so many annoyingly stupid dialogs often expected from independent shoestring budget slashers. I was impressed with strong and forcible performance of the leading man Glenn Morshower assuming the role of Ranger Bob, a man who was assigned to guide a bunch of kids sentenced to community service in a remote ranch forest under a correctional program for young offenders. Visual effects, although not abound and could hardly be regarded as awesome, are quite plausible anyway. To my disappointment a serial killer subplot is underdeveloped and very little contributes to the entire context of the film and building of tension. After stabbing a couple of insignificant characters the killer saunters meaninglessly between different locations of the woods only to disappear without a trace fairly early in the movie. Also shamefully, adorable Brody that has landed a role of the protagonist Grizzly Bear was offered too little screen time to stretch his undeniable acting talents. Yet the relationship between the Ranger and the Bear, as well as the context of Bebe's last phone conversation is beyond my apprehension. The idea is either too complex and not very obvious or, otherwise, too simple to be easily overlooked and maybe requires a second viewing. But all these minor shortcomings become unimportant when you realize that the main riddle and intrigue of the film unveiled towards the end (in pretty inventive if somewhat obnoxious manner) is whether mother nature bestowed Emily Foxler (Bebe) with a pair of authentic tits or are they just regular silicon (silly-what?) fakes? The temptation to find out the truth was so alluring that one especially curious lad stopped at nothing even in the paws of death to complete his research. I don't want to ruin the surprise ending by delving into further details (watch closely for the final Grizzly attack). All-in-all a passable start for the first time director and mostly lesser-known cast, and not bad for a brainless Friday night time-killer.

• Like porn without the porn

  markismijnadviseur2008-02-27

  I voted 1 and I am not too critical about horror. You know that the acting probably isn't Oscar material, but in this movie it is really bad. The acting and the story are so awful that you can compare it with a pornmovie,without the porn. The storyline (if there is any) is thin and the characters are so shallow, you just want them to die as soon as possible and get it over with. The effects are OK, but considering the poor acting it just isn't scary anymore. Don't waste money and time on this movie. It just isn't worthwhile.

• Glenn, you deserve so much better.......

  andrew-5522008-03-09

  The excellent Glenn Morshower was my main reason for watching this film. Over the past few years he's cornered he market on stoic, dependable, "down-home," authority/military types, with his performance as Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce on, "24," being the pinnacle of that particular type and a true highlight of that series. Therefore I was naturally excited to see that he had finally been given the lead role in a movie (as opposed to standing behind the lead, usually in a military uniform). It would seem at first glance those doing the casting had a keen sense of humour, having Glenn doing his, "stoic," bit as a park ranger to a bunch of Community Service teens being stalked by a grizzly in the wilds providing a funny dynamic in a well worn horror staple. How wrong I was. The film itself suffers from a terminal case of slowness, with scenes that should move along with pace (as should the whole film) being bogged down with performances where everyone....pauses...before....saying....their...lines in response to another characters remarks, almost like the editor just couldn't quite bear to part with those few seconds between the director calling, "Action," and the actor remembering their lines. As a result already stilted performances are made even worse by long bouts of silence. Endless scenes of walking through the woods before we actually get to any action doesn't help either. The cast of young actors are also undermined by the list of stereotypical characters they are given. Granted, this is a horror movie, they deal in stereotypes, but in this case it just comes across as incredibly lazy and tired. Making them, "Young Offenders," in an effort to add depth to the proceedings is a total waste of time as nothing is made of it. It literally doesn't matter. As does the subplot of the, "Escaped Maniac." Quite why he's in there I have no idea. Reading the synopsis, it would seem to be to add another element of danger to the story (If the bear doesn't get them, the killer will!) but the fact that he is eaten pretty much straight away kind of undermines that attempt at, "tension." He could quite easily have been the Corrections Officer whose identity he steals in the first place (and, in a totally logic defying decision, whose job collecting a bunch of kids from the local cops, who one would presume are all looking for him, he decides to carry on with) and it would make no difference to the story. When the bear finally does arrive the level of the effects just makes the whole thing even more laughable, with paws that don't look all that more convincing than those on, "Trickster's," bear costume (which must have had some kind of inflatable head given the size of it in comparison to the backpack he's carried for the rest of the film) dragging poor teens through cabin windows. In the end it's only Glenn who comes out of this whole thing with any kind of dignity intact, putting in a performance worthy of a far better film. Reading the trivia section for this film on IMDb, I see that the director got his break by thrusting his home made movie into the arms of the producer and it endeared it to them so much they gave him his shot. Perhaps next time the producer could just smack him over the head with it and tell him to go practise some more before letting him loose on another movie.