Director: William Girdler
Year: 1976
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Nature-Run-Amok
Plot:
After a series of accidents in the area, the workers of a National Forest park can prove the existence of a giant killer Grizzly Bear running around, attacking anyone it comes across, and are forced to band together with several locals to put an end to its rampage before more are hurt.
Review:
This was surprisingly a lot of fun with a lot to like about it. One of the best aspects here is the fun setup that feels incredibly familiar while still making for a highly enjoyable time here. The discovery of the creatures’ remnants while in the midst of their usual operations provides the kind of formulaic approach, dictating that the film goes through the motions of the genre quite readily as we get a rather fun run-through of that style. With the mundanity of their usual operation season hampered by the discovery of a dead body that throws everything into turmoil, the race to prove its existence as harmful to a disbelieving authority figure that wants nothing more than to sweep it all under the rug to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation, and the final race to stop it once they’ve realized that the wrong animal was mistakenly apprehended, sending off a premature positive spin on things.
This fine setup allows for the film’s exceptionally fast-paced tempo that tends to get this one going along nicely. As there’s really no let-up at all and it tends to remain incredibly focused on its main points without much deviation, allowing it to maintain a vicious pace all the way through that allows for far more attacks than expected, which are delivered with a nice blend of genuine stalking scenes and shorter ambush attacks, with the film mainly built around the sheer number of them, is what really matters here. From the opening attack on the campers, the waterfall ambush on the ranger, and a spectacular sleeping bag assault providing great short ambush sequences, while a big assault on a family in their shack or the various encounters with the hikers in the woods offer up the longer action scenes, the variety is adapted quite well into this to prepare for the high-energy finale, which generates the spectacle required after the fun beforehand. As well, the use of a real animal instead of CGI all combines together and makes this highly worthwhile.
There isn't that much wrong with the film, but it does have a few flaws. The main issue here is the film’s overly familiar storyline coming off beat-for-beat like several other big films from the time period, which makes it feel like a rip-off more than a genuine genre feature. Of course, the background information on the film makes that obvious. Still, it’s quite obvious, going back, how much some of these inclusions are done for the sake of following that familiar beat rather than anything of its own accord. Hence, they stand out that much more like the experienced hunter trying to go against the whims of the owner or the rather unbelievable angle with the park figurehead trying to use the experience for political means. The other issue is the kills: some are fun and get the blood flowing, but mostly the blood and gore look cheesy, which hurts them overall. Still, these aren’t so bad and only bring it down slightly.
Overview: ****/5
One of the finest nature-run-amok creature features of the period, this one manages to maintain quite a lot to like with only a few minor drawbacks that hold this down. Give this one a look if you’re a fan of this style of creature feature, appreciate this period of the genre overall, or are a fan of the creative crew, while only those who aren’t into any of those factors should heed caution.
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