Grizzly
Tags: tragedy, violence

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with military veteran helicopter pilot and guide Don Stober (Prine) flying individuals above the trees of a vast national park. He states that the woods are untouched and remain much as they did during the time when Native Americans lived there.
Two female hikers are breaking camp when they are suddenly attacked and killed by an unseen animal. The national park's chief ranger, Michael Kelly (George), and photographer Allison Corwin (Joan McCall), daughter of the park's restaurant owner, decide to follow a ranger to the primitive campsite to check on the female hikers. There, they discover the mangled corpses of the two girls, one of which has been partially buried.
At the hospital, a doctor tells Kelly that the girls were killed by a bear. The park supervisor, Charley Kittridge (Joe Dorsey), blames Kelly for the attacks, saying that the bears were supposed to have been moved from the park by Kelly and naturalist Arthur Scott (Jaeckel) before the tourist season began. Kelly and Kittridge argue over closing the park, before deciding to move all hikers off the park's mountain while allowing campers to remain in the lowlands. Kelly calls Scott, who tells him that all of the bears are accounted for and this specific bear must be unknown to the forest.
During a search of the mountain, a female ranger stops for a break at a waterfall. Deciding to soak her feet, she is unaware that the bear is lurking under the falls, and she is attacked and killed. Kelly recruits the helicopter pilot, Stober, to assist in the search. Flying above the forest, they see what they believe to be an animal, only to discover the naturalist Scott adorned in an animal skin while tracking the bear. He informs them that the animal they are looking for is a prehistoric grizzly bear (a fictional Pleistocene-era Arctodus ursos horribilis) standing at least 15 feet tall. Kelly and Stober scoff at the notion.
At the busy lowland campground, the grizzly tears down a tent and kills a woman. Kelly once again insists on closing the park, but Kittridge refuses. The attacks are becoming a national news story, and to counteract this, Kittridge allows amateur hunters into the forest. Kelly, Stober, and Scott, now a team, are disgusted by this development. Later, a lone hunter is chased by the bear, but he manages to escape the animal by jumping into a river and floating to safety. Later that night, three hunters find a bear cub that they believe is the cub of the killer grizzly, so they use it as bait for the mother. However, the grizzly finds and eats the cub without the hunters noticing. Scott concludes that the bear must be a male, as when it comes to bears, only the males are known to be cannibalistic. A ranger at a fire lookout tower on the mountain is attacked by the grizzly, the animal tearing down the structure and killing the ranger.
Kelly and Kittridge continue to argue over closing the park. Frustrated by the politics of the situation, Scott sneaks away to track the grizzly on his own. On the outskirts of the national park, a mother and her young child are attacked by the grizzly. The mother is killed, while the child survives, albeit severely mutilated. Stunned by this development, Kittridge finally allows Kelly to close the park and ban all hunters.
Stober and Kelly now go after the elusive grizzly alone, setting up a trap by hanging a deer carcass from a tree. The grizzly goes for the bait, but suddenly retreats. The men chase the animal through the woods, but it easily outruns them. When they return, they discover the grizzly has tricked them and taken the deer carcass. Scott, tracking on horseback, finds the remains of the carcass and calls Stober and Kelly on the radio. He is going to drag the deer behind his horse and create a trap by leading the grizzly towards them. However, the grizzly ambushes Scott, killing his horse and knocking him unconscious. He subsequently awakens to find himself alive but half-buried in the ground. Before he can dig himself out, the grizzly returns and immediately kills him.
Kelly and Stober discover Scott's mutilated body and, in despair, return to the helicopter to track the grizzly from the air. They soon spot the bear in a clearing and quickly land. The grizzly attacks the helicopter, swiping the craft and causing Stober to be thrown clear. The grizzly kills Stober before turning on Kelly, who frantically pulls a bazooka from the helicopter. Before the bear can reach him, Kelly fires the bazooka at the grizzly, killing the animal instantly. For several seconds, Kelly sadly stares at the burning remains of the grizzly, before walking towards Stober's body.

Review: Unjustifiably criticized as a "Jaws" rip-off at the time of it's release "Grizzly" is a really good "Monster on the loose" movie.
The film is about a 18 foot grizzly bear terrorizing campers in a national park with Christopher George, the Park Ranger, Andrew Prine, the Helicopter Pilot, and Richard Jaeckel, the Naturalist, teaming up together to bring the "Big Bad Bear's" rampage to an end.
The acting by the top stars in the film George, Prine and Jaeckel was much better then you would expect from a B-Monster/Horror movie.
If you're a fan of these types of movies you'll enjoy "Grizzly;" you won't be blown away or anything, but it's a nice little time-waster."Grizzly" was made one year after the hugely-successful "Jaws." It's obvious that the creators wanted to profit from that film's popularity because the plot is basically the same, albeit with a different animal, land instead of ocean, etc.
Grade B films like "Grizzly," however, do not pulsate with creative originality, they lack that certain pizazz to set them apart.This is not to say that "Grizzly" isn't entertaining; it is, as long as you understand going in that you're seeing a Grade B Jaws-on-land type flick.
If you enjoy deep forest adventure type movies, then this film's for you.The scene wherein the bruin destroys a fire outlook post is good.WHAT DOESN'T WORK: aside from the obvious "Jaws" rip-off and Grade B film problems mentioned above, the grizzly in the picture doesn't look as big as they say it is.
It's fairly good overall, the acting is horribly stilted on occasion, the script has it's fair share of stupid dialog, the gore scenes are a tad fake looking and the constant usage of fake shots of the bear (who is clearly in a completely different location) does indicate a relatively low budget.
But sometimes the faults only add to the enjoyment, as is the case here.This was a tremendously ambitious project for it's time and the grizzly bear scenes were a horror to film (and not to mention; quite dangerous).
Andrew Prine and Richard Jaeckel are a fine pair as George's aids but pretty much everyone else has an amateur night in terms of acting.Late director William Girdler knew how to get the most out of a limited budget (check out "Day of the Animals", a semi-sequel to "Grizzly") and would probably have made plenty of first rate B-movies had he lived longer.
As a matter of fact, GRIZZLY is quite more than a B movie : truly a "part B-part A" movie, if looking its budget, magnificent scenery and natural locations photography camera work, ultra-violent gore special effects, and the presence of stars such as Christopher George & Richard Jaeckel & Andrew Prine (the two first ones are excellent as usual and the third one quite good though in a less important role and with less image timing presence)without forgetting the very good directing work of Girdler.Girdler has been successful in trying to translate the mental and perceptual universe of the URSUS HORRIBILIS (Latin name given by Jaeckel to the Grizzly : scientific name ?
not so Gentle Ben. Grizzly is one of those monster movies that sort of imitates the plot from jaws,but on land.made by the late independent;film ventures its a fun movie but extremely violent for pg.this killer Kodiak kills campers,a few park rangers,one sexy blonde ranger,and claws a horses head off.it must be seen on widescreen to really enjoy.oh a little boy has his leg and arm ripped off by the rampaging grizzly,this is no yogi bear this is a 7 foot killer,its up to Richard Jeackle,Christopher George,and Andrew Prine to stop him.Joe Dorsey plays the mean park ranger boss(like Murray Hamilton from jaws)when i first saw this it scared the hell out of me.gruesome for a pg movie.6 out of 10.gory fun..
man am i ever sick of hearing about grizzly being a jaws ripoff.who cares.take this movie for what it is.exploitation animal run wild b horror movie.i have liked grizzly since i seen it on TV in the late 70's.but now i just got my official shriek show two disc DVD in the mail packed with extras.if you are a fan of 1970's killer animals on the loose horror movies then i suggest you grab yourself a copy of this DVD.how can you go wrong with a killer grizzly tearing apart horses women and children in gory killings.this is one of the best killer animals on the loose horror movies i have seen.now get on ebay and buy this DVD right now.
So if anything "Grizzly" can merely be accused of having excellent timing, as it rode the coat-tails of "Jaws" to the tune of $39 million in box office and briefly held the title of most profitable independent movie (till it was unseated by the original "Halloween").As for the movie itself, it's a fairly typical killer animal flick.
A rogue Grizzly bear has suddenly begun tromping around a national park, munching on campers and back-packers, and the park's bad-ass head ranger (Christopher George) has to hunt it down and kill it, assisted by his two best friends, a naturalist (Richard Jaeckel) and a redneck chopper pilot.
Those attack scenes are still fairly brutal and gory (particularly when the bear goes after a young boy and his mother, and we see the poor kid thrown to the ground with his leg bitten off!), and when we finally do get to see the Grizzly in all his glory, he's a fearsome looking S.O.B. indeed.
I won't reveal whether or not Ranger Smith (haha) manages to defeat Yogi Bear in their climactic battle, but I will say that it's the best scene in the movie, due to the total overkill weapon used by George's character.Director William Girdler keeps the suspense level up and Christopher George is a suitable tough-guy hero, making "Grizzly" a decent night of schlocky-but-fun creature-feature entertainment, 1970s style..
I'm glad to say that although this is a rip off of some other movie (Enzo Castellari's The Last Shark I think), Grizzly is an effective animal on the loose film.
And, strangely, the fourth film in a row I've watched set in a forest (after Forest of Fear, Don't go in the woods, and Attack of the beast creatures).Everything's dandy for forest ranger Kelly (Christopher George) and his helicopter pilot mate Andrew Prine (Andrew Prine) until two girls get gorily dismembered and eaten by a giant grizzly.
In a plot point never done before in another film, the park's owner doesn't want to shut the park down due to tourist revenue, so it's up to Kelly, Prine, and some guy who walks around pretending to be an animal to find the Grizzly and put a cap in his arse.The bear, however, is super smart and chows down on rangers and tourists alike, killing one ranger while she rather unwisely takes a topless shower under a waterfall.
There is something rather intimidating about a crazed, giant bear chasing people through a forest (unlike the film Grizzly rips off, which I think is Bruno Mattei's Cruel Jaws, once you're on land a shark can't chase you, but a giant bear in a forest seems like a bit more desperate situation especially as this one can tear down walls).It was gorier than I remembered, as limbs are torn off (including a child losing a leg), a horse having it's head torn off, and faces being clawed.
Great Fun. Grizzly (1976) *** (out of 4)Effective JAWS clone has a park ranger (Christopher George), a helicopter pilot (Andrew Prine) and a hunter (Richard Jaeckel) trying to track down a large, 2000 pound grizzly bear that is attacking various campers and hikers.After the success of Steven Spielberg's JAWS, there were all sorts of "nature attack" films that came up.
He made a lot of low-budget movies in his short life and several very entertaining ones including this.What I enjoyed most about the film were the bear attacks themselves.
The killer Grizzly seems to be raging through a National Park, where it kills and eats a number of unsuspecting tourists and park rangers.There are a couple of acting bears in the film.
you know,i actually though this was an OK movie.for an horror film form 1976 it's actually not bad.the acting is fair to good.there are some tense action scenes.the cinematography is nice.as for the Grizzly,we don't get to see a whole lot of him until near the end(naturally)but when the beast is finally fully revealed,you can judge for yourself whether it was worth the wait.as for the movie itself,all i can say is i've seen a lot of movie(many form the same genre and time period)and this is nowhere near as bad as some of the clunkers that have stunk up my house.if you keep your expectations low and remember this is not a masterpiece,you might actually get something out of it.i just enjoyed it for what it was.for me,Grizzly is a 6/10.
When the film was over I just thought one thing, the story is the same as the movie "Jaws", but it's a bear and the story goes in the woods.
To his dismay a couple of campers were mauled by a grizzly bear and now he's on the hunt with helicopter pilot Don Stober (Andrew Prine) and nature boy Arthur Scott (Richard Jaeckel).
I watched director William Girdler's animal attack movie Grizzly a while back and completely forgot to write a review about it.
Still, it doesn't matter too much that the details are now a little vague, because this film can be summed up easily in three words: Jaws on land.Instead of swimmers being gobbled up in the sea, it's hikers and campers that are on the menu of an 18-foot tall grizzly bear in a national park, with concerned ranger Michael Kelly (Christopher George) in charge of hunting the hairy beast down.
He is aided in this task by naturalist Scott (Richard Jaeckel) and helicopter pilot, Don (Andrew Prine), but is hampered by a stupid official who wants to keep the park open.Of course, Girdler's film isn't a patch on Jaws, the director not nearly in the same class as Spielberg when on top form, but it does offer up some cheesy B-movie fun, with a few gory killings (the first victim has her arm torn off and is gripped in a deadly bear hug, a young boy loses his leg, and a horse is decapitated!), an entertaining attack on a lookout tower, and a craptabulous finale in which the bear has a go at Don's helicopter before finally being blown to smithereens with a rocket launcher..
Photography is often praised (not only in this film, but in other Girdler outdoor adventures, such was his intuitive understanding of the lens and its capability in projecting scale) and the scenery is first class for such an inexpensive picture; scenes in which the bear's size is emphasised, are well scaled and the interactive attack sequences are well staged and shot."Grizzly" will forever be remembered as the first cab off the rank after "Jaws", and especially so as it did for camping what "Jaws" achieved for swimming in the sea, for its audience.
Decent acting from Christopher George,Andrew Prine and Richard Jaeckel(although some of the other actors sucked big time)help deliver a movie,that although far from a classic,is still watchable.I recently came across the video again at a pawn shop after not seeing it in a while and it was a fair investment of 3 dollars.
In some circles (concentric mostly) the latter blows the former away.In his last memorable film role, Christopher George plays the Scheider character, this time a forest ranger named Kelly (not to be confused with DeForest Kelly), trying to stop "18 FEET OF GUT CRUNCHING MAN EATING TERROR" that has been feasting on campers, park rangers (both clothed and unclothed), horse heads and little boy arms.
Ranger Michael Kelly (Christopher George) leaps into the carnage to stop it.While I have not seen many bear attack films, I have seen enough to know good from bad.
William Girdler's "Grizzly" is an enjoyable horror film about bloodthirsty bear on the loose.Especially surprising is rather high amount of blood and gore for PG-rated flick.Of course the story is pretty stupid and unoriginal,but there are several really violent moments featured here(even a horse is decapitated!).Anyway if you like horror movies give this one a look-I think that you won't be disappointed.Check out also similar "Claws"(1977)for more bear carnage!.
Undoubtedly the story lines, plot-structure, camera-work and even musical score are strangely reminiscent (read: identical) to Spielberg's classic creature-feature milestone, but let's be honest, "Jaws" inspired a numberless amount of contemporary horror films and the majority of them isn't nearly as entertaining as William Girldler's "Grizzly".
You can just imagine that someone walked in to a cinema in 1975 , saw JAWS and shuffled out thinking they'd have a great idea for a movie where instead of a great white shark terrorising a coastal community we get a grizzly bear terrorising a forest .
Like the shark in JAWS which looks a bit too much like a mechanical model ( Not necessarily a criticism in the CGI obsessed present day ) here the eponymous grizzly is hyped up as a terrible man eating beast over eighteen foot high when it makes its pivotal climatic appearance it looks far too cute and cuddly to induce fear .As a footnote and it's nothing to do with the producers GRIZZLY was broadcast pre watershed on the British horror channel which meant certain scenes involving the bear attack had been curtailed .
Predictable, by-the-numbers horror film, so reminiscent of "Jaws" (even in the shots from the bear's point-of-view and the unmistakably similar music score) that it has to be called a "rip-off" (and it was probably intended as such).
- Grizzly  An abnormally large, man-eating bear with above average intelligence terrorizes campers.Jaws  For the first 2/3 of the movie, the shark is kept mainly off-screen with only a quick shot or two of a fin.
- Grizzly  For the first 2/3 of the movie, the bear is kept mainly off-screen with only a quick shot or two of a paw.Jaws  The movie features scenes of frightened swimmers literally tripping over themselves getting out of the water to escape the shark.
- Grizzly  The movie features scenes of frightened campers literally tripping over themselves getting out of the woods to escape the bear.Jaws - Police Chief Martin Brody argues endlessly with Mayor Larry Vaughn about the need to close the beaches.
- Grizzly  Three men (Ranger Michael Kelly, naturalist Arthur Scott, and helicopter pilot Don Stober) set out for one final showdown with the bear.Jaws  Bait is dragged behind the boat to attract the shark.
- Grizzly  Bait is dragged behind a horse to attract the bear.Jaws  In the end, the shark is "blowed-up real good".
The other problem is that, unlike a great white shark, bears are cute, and even if the grizzly they use in this film ain't cute (personally I think he is), he is certainly a handsome creature, and I for one can't feel the fear of him that I had of the "soulless-looking" shark in Jaws (and yes, I know that sharks are just innocent animals the same as bears, but I wouldn't want to cuddle one).
Thus, it falls on head forest ranger Kelly (Christopher George), chopper pilot Don (Andrew Prine) and maniacal naturalist Scott (the great character actor Richard Jaeckel) to put a stop to the ferocious attacks....To "Grizzly"'s credit, the viewer does not have to wait long to see the film's first attack sequence, and these scenes crop up fairly regularly throughout.
As if the film's debt to "Jaws" were not already transparent enough, however, "Grizzly" gives us POV shots from the bear's eyes, accompanied by ominous music; a scary nighttime tale told by one of the hunters; a bureaucratic jerk who wants to keep the park open, despite the obvious danger; and an explosive death for the beastly nemesis at the picture's end.
It's up to rough'n'tumble ranger Michael Kelly (Christopher George in sturdy two-fisted macho form) to figure out a way to stop the beast.Director William Girdler keeps the enjoyable, if derivative (from "Jaws," of course), story moving along at a brisk pace, maintains a harsh take-no-prisoners tone throughout, stages the brutal'n'bloody attack scenes with gusto, makes nice use of the beautiful sylvan setting, and delivers a handy helping of shockingly gory violence (it's to believe this movie got away with a PG rating!).
Co-producer and co-writer David Sheldon thought about how they could make a bear version of Jaws and they wrote a script that Girdler discovered and offered to finance, as long as he could direct.Grizzly begins with military vet and helicopter pilot Don Stober (Andrew Prine, The Town that Dreaded Sundown, The Eliminators, Amityville II: The Possession) flying over a national park and explaining how the woods remain untouched, much like they were in when Native Americans made their homes here.The first two attacks happen quickly - in bear POV no less - when two female hikers are dismembered by the ursus arctos horribilis villain of this story.
That brings in park ranger Michael Kelly (Christopher George, Gates of Hell/City of the Living Dead, Day of the Animals, Mortuary, Pieces) and photographer Allison Corwin (Joan McCall, who besides being in Devil Times Five is also married to the film's writer, Sheldon) in on the case.At the hospital, a doctor tells the park ranger that a bear killed the girls, but the park's supervisor blames the ranger and naturalist Arthur Scott (Richard Jaeckel, The Dark, Mako: The Jaws of Death and TV's Salvage 1*) for the girls' deaths.
The best part of this film overall was the fact that the plot line was simple: A enormous grizzly bear killing people.