Are you ready for the story of a movie that took over 37 years ago, stars some huge stars before their big breaks, and is just now being released?
Oh man… have you ever heard of Grizzly? Viewed by many as a Jaws rip-off this movie was released the year after Jaws was released in theaters and featured a giant 15-foot tall grizzly bear who developed a taste for human flesh. The bear for the original film was actually 11 feet tall, and the largest at the time. They kept the crew of the film safe with just a piece of green string. In its captivity, it was kept behind an electric fence and was taught to steer clear of it, and the green string and kitchen timer tick were enough to convince him it was set up on set as well.
For most horror movies in the 80s, having an unsuccessful starting would have killed off a fledgling franchise before a sequel would be made. This was especially true when the movie had such an extremely negative review, which Grizzly had in spades. However, it was still the top-grossing independent film for its year. So it was kind of a surprise, and kind of not a surprise that after 7 years since the original release, people decided in 1983 to give it another go with a sequel originally titled Grizzly II: The Concert. Yeah. They went for a musical vibe!
I can only imagine it would be hard to make a sequel to the original film, being that the hero of the first film kills the epic beast with a bazooka. However, only time will tell how they brought it back in the sequel, or if the enemy is really “Daughter of Grizzly”.
The original movie was filmed for $750,000 in Clayton, Georgia. The sequel’s filming, however, was moved to Hungary. Additionally, the sequel was not written by Harvey Flaxman, but specifically by one of the original directors, David Sheldon and his wife. The sequel specifically has some interesting talent though, with young actors: George Clooney, Laura Dern, Charlie Sheen, and John Rhys-Davies.
The sequel starts when a 15-foot tall grizzly bear seeks revenge for the death of her cubs. However, all of this is unbeknownst to a major concert, taking place in the exact forest three days later.
So why did this movie never get released?
Well, the movie was filmed, and almost done but adding special effects were required to finish the movie. However, before funds could be paid, the current executive producer, Joseph Proctor stole the funds and disappeared. This wouldn’t be the first situation of legal found issues for the series, since the original film’s executive producer, Edward L. Montoro, tried to unsuccessfully steal the profits from the distribution of the film.
Now the movie is finally being released, thanks to Gravitas Ventures, in select theaters and on-demand on January 8, 2021. Sold yet?
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