by Conan Simmons – July 27, 2021 – 10:15 pm
In 1976 the nature-vs.-man horror film ‘Grizzly’, directed by William Girdler, became a hit at the box office. It was one of many of the genre that were eager to capitalize on the success of ‘Jaws’. Naturally a sequel to ‘Grizzly’ was planned and, for the most part, filmed albeit years later in 1983 and, for murky reasons, in Hungary standing in for Yellowstone Park. Though not directed by Girdler, who died in a helicopter crash in the Philippines in 1978, the sequel does contain some of his influence.
The producer of ‘Grizzly II: Revenge’, Joseph Ford Proctor, skipped town with the money that had been raised to cover the film’s budget after only the first day of filming. Co-producer Suzanne C. Nagy was able to quickly raise just enough money to film almost an hour worth of material before funds fell out altogether and the incomplete movie sat on a shelf for over thirty years.
After a bootleg copy found its way onto Youtube in 2011, Suzanne C. Nagy found a way to complete the movie as quickly as possible.
Adding very brief, newly shot, footage that doesn’t blend well with the original film footage ‘Grizzly II: Revenge’ opens with said new footage complete with the cheapest computer graphics that may have come free with whatever computer was used to edit the film. It serves little to no service, only briefly (and not very well) showing that a Grizzly bear is going to go on a rampage after a poacher shot her cub.
Thankfully the new footage that starts the film is very brief and with the title card we get what we’re watching the film for. Three hikers on their way to a weekend rock concert in Yellowstone National Park need to camp for the night. These three hikers are played by George Clooney, Laura Dern and Charlie Sheen just years before they became major Hollywood stars. It’s kind of hard to tell if this scene plays well because we recognize the stars-to-be and are therefore eager to watch or if it’s actually that good. Had the movie been completed and released in 1983 as originally planned it might be viewed differently. The trio does do well as the typical 1980’s young people out to party.
Unfortunately, and obviously, they get attacked by the rampaging Grizzly. This is actually the brilliance of releasing this movie as it is proudly presenting itself as an exploitation film aggressively capitalizing on the presence of the three stars who are top billed in this movie even though their names most likely would have been very last on the end credits if the movie hadn’t been delayed.
Their demise sets up the slowly building panic as a park ranger and the director of bear management, played by Steve Inwood and Deborah Raffin, team up to prevent tragedy striking the rock concert which is being overseen by a corrupt politician, played by Louise Fletcher. Of course, the park ranger has a teenage daughter, played by Deborah Foreman, who is eager to hang out with her friends at the concert.
In effort to prevent anymore bear attacks the ranger and bear manager seek the guidance of a French-Canadian trapper, played by John Rhys-Davies as a sort of regular size Paul Bunyan minus Babe, the Blue Ox.
That’s about as much sense that can be made from this movie as ‘Grizzly II: Revenge’ is a complete and glorious wreck. It’s not apt to call it a train wreck of a film as that would imply it being on track at some point. No, this movie starts completely wrecked and manages to stay that way to the end.
There is a bit of the newly shot footage added in somewhere in the middle that is only landscape scenery with bears and deer out and about. It does go on for a minute and starts to feel like an intermission which is weird for a movie that struggles real hard to be just barely over an hour long.
The last half of the movie gets to be a bit more fascinating as it very clunkily becomes a bad mix of nature-sploitation horror film and concert documentary. There is a very real concert that was put on featuring some very real 80’s bands like Toto Coelo, KFT, Set the Tone, The Predator and The Dayz. There’s even some crowd footage from a Nazareth concert thrown into the mix. Some of the bands are first shown rehearsing as the stage is being built and then their real performances for the concert are filmed in front of a sizeable crowd.
Toto Coelo does not perform their hit songs “I Eat Cannibals” or “Dracula’s Tango” but they do perform three or four songs including “Milk from the Coconut”. In the U.S. the girl group had to go by the name Total Coelo in order to avoid copyright infringement and confusion with the rock band Toto.
The lead singer of the band The Predator, Nigel Dolman is briefly seen outside of the concert venue jogging and then talking with the ranger’s daughter, Foreman, in an overly sappy, melodramatic way. The scene clearly was meant to set up some kind of romantic subplot but apparently that’s the only scene that was filmed so the subplot dies as fast as it is introduced.
‘Grizzly II: Revenge’ is so terribly put together, even with a fake bear head placed in front of the camera overlooking the crowd at the concert and super choppy editing that doesn’t consider continuity. At one point the Grizzly chases a victim into a cave and the slaughter is shown as quickly cut together shots of the Grizzly and the victim outside in the woods.
The movie really gets its laughs with the climax at the concert. As the bear attacks it somehow manages to set off the pyrotechnics being stored backstage that sends almost everything into incoherent explosions complete with someone running around on fire. In this now blazing inferno emerges John Rhys-Davies in combat mode ready for an epic faceoff against the rampaging Grizzly. Anyone who has seen William Girdler’s other nature-vs.-man horror film ‘Day of the Animals’ will immediately think of the glorious scene from that earlier movie where star Leslie Nielsen squares off against a rampaging bear in primal combat. Alas, this film probably didn’t film much of fight sequence because it happens very quickly.
The rampage at the concert is a low budget affair and never really incorporates the actual concert that is shown to be happening but it does offer a glimpse at what feels like what a haunted concert setting could be at a theme park.
‘Grizzly II: Revenge’ sat incomplete for 37 years before seeing the light of day at drive-in theaters last year as one of few films being released during the pandemic. The end credits acknowledge several Youtube channels for contributing to the sound effects. The movie is absolute exploitation and anyone looking for a “good” movie isn’t going to find it here.
The thing is though, ‘Grizzly II: Revenge’ is likeable. It’s a movie you know is terribly bad and you shouldn’t like it, much less recommend it. It’s just that I do like it and I do recommend it to anyone with a taste for cult movies. If your idea of cinema is limited to the Scorsese vs. Marvel debate then perhaps ‘Grizzly II: Revenge’ isn’t for you. If you do enjoy wild cinematic excursions into the obscure, this movie is definitely for you.
‘Grizzly II: Revenge’ is a so-bad-it’s-good movie, terrible and glorious all at once. An instant guilty pleasure.
Sounds like a lot of fun!