torstensonjohn This will be a very simple and easy review. This is a "why did you make this" moment. Terribly acted, horrible script, editing was horrendous, honorable mention to the BEAR. A dumb as nails plot 2 couples taking a road trip become stranded in a minivan when a Grizzly shows up. One man shoots, empties his clip into bear killing it. The bear's mate right behind it seeks vengeance. Why? Bears are smart and predatory creatures. These supposed intelligent humans seek refuge YEP in the van. COME on, Stupid. 1 out of 10

BA_Harrison I generally love 'killer animal' films, but when the characters in peril are as thoroughly unlikeable as they are in Bear, it's hard not to side with the wild animal, willing it on to clamp its jaws or land its claws on the terrified human fodder. The frightened foursome in this film includes an adulteress, two recovering drug addicts/alcoholics, and a businessman who is being investigated for corruption, all of whom bicker and fight at every opportunity. So when they are attacked by a grizzly while on their way to a family gathering, it's really hard to feel any sympathy for them, particularly considering that it was their own stupidity that got them into the situation in the first place.Even as these victims cower in fear while the bear figures out a way to prise them from their car, they continue to argue with each other, their guilty secrets eventually coming to the fore, at which point the film plays like a crappy soap opera—albeit one with a big, hairy, man-eating animal on the rampage. Unfortunately, said big, hairy, man-eating animal rarely looks all that threatening, even resembling a man in a moth-eaten bear costume at times, which doesn't exactly help the tension. I'd like to say that the film is at least be good for a laugh, but it isn't. Avoid.

Paul Andrews Bear starts as two brother's Sam (Patrick Scott Lewis) & Nick (Brendan Michael Coughlin) are driving along the Californian highway, Sam's wife Christine (Katy Lowes) & Nick's girlfriend Liz (Mary Alexandra Stiefvater) are also there as they head for a steak house where Sam & Nick's parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary. Nick decides to take a short cut across a desert road & they pick up a flat tyre, just as they finished changing the tyre a huge Grizzly Bear approaches them & in a panic Sam takes out his gun & shoots it dead. Suddenly another Bear emerges from the forest & seems upset that it's mate has been shot dead, it charges at the four friends & they lock themselves in the car but the Bear pushes the car over. Stuck miles from anywhere with no phone signal the four travellers have to pit their wits against a huge Bear seemingly intent on killing them all...Directed by John Rebel you could describe Bear as being an extremely dull rip-off of Grizzly (1976), one might be tempted to label Bear as a standard creature feature but I never felt the makers were just trying to make a film about a killer animal & were trying to do something a little different & maybe a little bit more realistic. Unfortunately while it's intentions are noble Bear is crap, while the script tries to flesh it's character's out with lots of meaningful dialogue which is supposed to make us care for them the sub-par soap opera drama is poorly written & quite how all this dirty laundry about affairs, bankruptcy, jealously, alcoholism & pregnancy gets aired despite a huge Grizzly Bear trying to kill everyone is still a mystery. I just don't think that the situation these people find themselves in is a good time to talk over marriage problems & repressed feelings of anger & hate. I just don't. To it's credit Bear only lasts for 78 minutes with the end credits starting at about the 75 minute mark so at least it's fairly short even if none of those 78 minutes are particularly enjoyable or entertaining. I guess we were meant to feel for the character's as their emotions go from anger to sorrow to regret & guilt but I didn't really like any of them & that made it hard for me to sit through this, the repetitiveness of the story doesn't help neither does the tameness of it & the inclusion of several lines of dialogue that indicate that Bear's may be powerful spiritual beings seem out of place.Virtually the entire film takes place in the same single patch of Californian woods which gets very annoying, there are only four people in the entire film so if you don't like any of them it's hard watch to the end & there isn't even any decent carnage to compensate. All of the death's are tame & off screen, there's a tiny bit of blood splatter but that's it. The makers decided to use a real Bear (billed as 'Blue' in the end credits) which is good for realism but bad for the film as it just sort of walks around a bit & growls a lot, you just can't have your actors & a huge Bear in the same scene fighting or whatever so it's all quick flashes & implied rather than shown in any detail.Probably shot on a budget of about zero this was filmed on the Serengeti Animal Ranch in Acton in California. The acting was alright but I didn't like any of the character's.Bear is a dull creature feature that tries to be intellectual & show proper people in a terrible situation but the lack of excitement, some really unlikable character's & no pay-off at all means I doubt many find anything here to enjoy. I couldn't Bear it if I had to watch it again.

DontSeeMe If you managed to survive the really scary scene when the bear is terrorizing the gang by clawing through holes in the sewer pipe, pause the DVD at 38:31 and look in the upper left. You can see a dude wearing glasses, leaning on the pipe, wearing a bear paw glove! . . . I also found it interesting that the older brother was dragged back to the car from the steakhouse, yet was not in a state of shock. If that were me I don't think I'd be able to join in on the current discussion. The conversation between the younger bro and his sister-in-law was rather casual also, considering that the first girl was brutally mauled in their faces, and everyone seemed to completely forget about her. Definitely a 3 rating for humor on this one. It was very campy, I was reminded of Wendigo and had some really good laughs!