Wuchak 2008's "Grizzly Park" piqued my interest because I liked the trailer (see it on IMDb) and it was shot near the Mt. Rogers region in SW Virginia & NE Tennessee (Marion, VA, and Backbone Rock Recreation Area, TN), which is one of the places I vacationed last summer.THE PLOT: Eight delinquent youths from the city are assigned community service at Grizzly Park, CA, chaperoned by no-nonsense Ranger Bob. What they don't know is that there's an escaped killer on the loose, as well as a killer grizzly!The movie starts out great with a quote of 2 Kings 2:23-25, which refers to the occasion where a bunch of youths jeered the prophet Elisha and his baldness. When he couldn't take it any more, Elisha cursed them and two bears came out of the forest, mauling 42 kids. The following opening credits sequence is creative and well done, the music too. At this point I was wondering if I may have stumbled upon a hidden gem, like "Sasquatch Mountain" and (much less so) "Flu Birds," entertaining Grade-B creature-features that shoot for more depth than the norm (see my review of each). From there, however, the film derails into serious C-Grade territory with bad dialogue, a mildly campy approach, lousy pacing and no suspense. Fortunately the film makes up for it in the last act, the final 30 minutes or so, which is a killer grizzly gorefest, but you have to slog through a semi-uneventful first hour to get there.Despite the negative comments there are a handful of positive points:Gorgeous late Summer/early Fall locations in SW Virginia & NE Tennessee; although the story takes place in California. - A good cast of women: a brunette, a blond, a Hispanic and an Asian. The brunette, Bebe (Emily Foxler), struck me as a likable character who unlocked my compassion and favor despite being a seemingly total airhead (until the end, that is, which ruined it; you'll know what I mean when you see it). The Hispanic girl, Lola (Zulay Henao), is the real beauty here and the viewer is treated to some quality eyecandy. - One white dude, Scab (Randy Wayne), turns out to be slightly likable, even though he's supposedly a hardcore "white power" racist. His indoctrination is shattered, however, when he discovers himself falling for the Hispanic Lola, which gives indication that he's actually a very smart young man. This leads to a beautiful and touching scene between the two. I wasn't expecting this in a Grade-C campy gorefest. - There's no CGI. The bear is real, except for a couple parts where there's a human stand-in. - Like I said, the last act features some hardcore gore, like one of the girls being bit in half with her entrails laying loose, heads getting bit in half, etc. I don't watch these types of movies for the gore, but some like it. The only thing is, although the gore is very extreme in the last 25 minutes I didn't find it shocking or scary at all; in fact, sometimes I just busted out laughing, but that's mainly because of the campy tone more than anything. In other words, since the filmmakers deliver the goods in a semi-serious this-is-all-a-joke manner I couldn't very well take the shocks & gore serious. Yet this doesn't mean it's not entertaining. - The old campfire classic "I Met a Bear" is utilized a couple times during the movie and fully during the end credits, performed here by Twin Sisters .For those who argue that the murderer subplot seemed totally pointless: It's more than just a red herring and ties into the media's theory for the so-called murders revealed at the end, a doofy bear costume being a chief piece of evidence.The DVD features a handful of "making of" extras with cast and crew, including the 1300 lb. bear, Brody; each one is only a few minutes in length. You'll marvel at how close the trainer and other crewmembers get to the bear. I'm glad each segment is short because I only prefer the gist of it; I don't care to see a friggin' movie on the making of the movie, if you know what I mean; unless of course it's something like "Apocalypse Now."BOTTOM LINE: Despite being a semi-campy Grade-C film with a fairly uneventful first hour and some bad writing, pacing, etc., "Grizzly Park" possesses a curious 'cult' ambiance highlighted by a great opening credits sequence (big deal, huh?) and a violently gory climax. I like the women (Lola!), the real bear, no CGI, the campfire classic "I Met a Bear" and the gorgeous Eastern locations, plus there's at least one touching, nigh reverent romantic scene, no kidding.Part of me wants to rate this 6/10 Stars since, in many ways, "Grizzly Park" delivers the goods, but I'd feel too guilty because this isn't really a good movie. It's equal parts boring, dumb, eccentric, fun, inept, impressive and fascinating. A guilty pleasure that will likely develop a small cult following who'll openly admit it's not good, but like it anyway (sort of).GRADE: C

Alice I wasn't expecting much when I rented "Grizzly Park." I'm not a fan of horror movies and only rented this due to the presence of Glenn Morshower as Ranger Bob. After reading a lot of reviews I was expecting a total mess of a film; it wasn't quite that bad.The idea of characters getting killed as punishment for their misdeeds isn't a new one in horror, or even in mystery (see "And Then There Were None"), but I liked the idea of this group of offenders being given a chance to repent their misdeeds. Needless to say, they don't. "Grizzly Park" is also beautiful to look at, as it was filmed on location in a couple of state parks (quibble: the movie is supposed to be set in a California state park, but the vegetation is clearly Eastern, witness all the deciduous trees changing color. It obviously isn't California). Some horror film aficionados may have downgraded the film due to its lack of sex and minimal violence - for a horror film. There are a couple of fairly graphic deaths for those who enjoy that sort of thing.Glenn Morshower turns in a great performance and I think his presence is reason enough to rent the film. It actually would have benefited from being longer, as we really don't get to know the characters very well. One of the extras on the disc includes interviews with the actors describing their characters as "deep" and "troubled." I'd call them "sketchy" myself.The so-called twist ending really didn't come as a surprise, but it was very rushed; not enough time was spent on it for it to be believable and it really felt tacked on. A couple more minutes would have been better here. Overall, if you're a fan of Mr Morshower and cheesy movies I think this is worth your time on a slow evening. I've certainly seen worse.

asly_amin just nasty scenes of people getting bad non-real injuries, in real life bears do not attack and hurt like that, and we all know that, and when bears want to eat it will get busy for a period of time, while in this movie the bear didn't eat and he just kept attacking and killing roughly, actually an animal never do that, only a human being can do that so why this unfair and unreal misrepresentation of facts about grizzlies life style? I really like to watch horror movies with animals starting, but I feel like these actor's and writers of these kind of movies want people like me to stop liking these movies...I think we need an organization to put an eye on this movies to correct such stupid mistakes..

bones-knight For the last 21 years we have waited for a sequel to The Lost Boys which in my opinion is the best modern vampire flick ever to be made. So upon its release I purchased my copy and was delighted to find that not only would Corey Feldman be reprising his role as Edgar Frog but that Keifer Sutherland's younger half brother Angus would be playing the role of the lead vampire in the film. Well here's the verdict folks! It SUCKS! This is nothing more than a cheap departure from what made the original both special and successful! This is just another cheap excuse for a horror flick in 2008! Up until now I thought that Grizzly Park would have to win the Razzie for worst film of the year but that is no longer the case. It will clearly go to Lost Boys: The Tribe. I was also excited to hear that the original theme "Cry Little Sister" written by Gerard Mcmann would be covered in the film by a modern rock act, supposedly, by the name of Aiden. That was also lacking! In fact the producers of this film should have gotten the guy that penned the song "Dead Man's Hands " for Grizzly Park to do the cover of this song! As I am sure Gerard Mcmann himself would totally agree it would have been much more honest and believable. Bottom line- Do not buy this movie unless you want to support Feldman's drug habbit! bones