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- Grizzly - US DVD - 

William Girdler jumped whole-heartedly into the world of exploitation film-making
when he wrote and directed 'Three On a Meathook' at the ripe old age of twenty-five.
He cranked out imitations of hits like 'Abby' which was a blaxploitation rip-off 
of 'The Exorcist' and he adapted strange works to the big screen like 'The Manitou'
which starred Tony Curtis as a psychic con-artist who tries to help a woman with 
an Indian growing out of her back!  
William Girdler was a genius of drive in genre fare. But he died tragically in a 
plane crash when he was only thirty. Who know what would have become of Mr. Girdler
since each film was a significant step up from the previous. But what he left behind
was a wonderful array of schlock wonders, which is where 'Grizzly' comes in. 
This movie follows 'Jaws' as if it were a road map except it’s on dry land and the
menacing beast is a giant bear. A park ranger (Christopher George), a helicopter pilot
(Andrew Prine) and a haggard and quirky bear expert (Robert Shaw, uh, I mean Richard
Jaeckel) band together after a series of off camera mayhem hits their side of the 
mountain. The first victims are a couple badly dubbed girls who run around and barely
act scared before one of them has an arm ripped off and is killed. Then it’s a couple
of ugly lovers who steal off to their tent only to have the woman swung in circles and 
thrown away in front of several young campers. Of course no one originally believes 
'Ranger Kelly’s' notion of a fifteen foot shark, uh, I mean bear until a little more 
blood is streaked across the land. Finally the park supervisor concedes and lets them 
close up the mountain. The humorous scene that follows has some not too terrified 
looking campers running for their life. Finally it’s man against bear and only the 
strongest will survive.
Though 'Grizzly' could never even dream of being as good as 'Jaws' even with every
element added to the pot, it’s still an entertaining little piece 'o' drive in pie.
Made for very little money and shot in a slap happy sort of way, it’s got promise 
and a few laughs along the way.
Joan McCall plays 'Allison' and gives one of the most over-the-top-spunky-beyond-belief
performances ever recorded on celluloid. She rants about being taken seriously as an
artist and a woman and Christopher George still falls for her. It’s important to note
here that Ms. McCall was married to the producer David Sheldon.
'Grizzly' is a true testament to Christopher George’s talent and level of professionalism.  
He quite often found himself in zero budget, zero plot flicks and manages to rise above
his element every time. He’s sexy and strong and you actually believe he cares about 
the crazy plight he’s facing. In fact, all three male leads add a bit of class to 'Grizzly'
which helps it greatly. 
As for the supporting cast, well that’s another story!
Like William Girdler’s films, the DVD is a bare bones effort with no extras and no 
remastering to speak of. But it’s still a must for fans of schlock, Christopher George or
bears and for those of you who can’t get enough of the stuff, check out the hard to find
sequel called 'Grizzly 2: The Predator' starring George Clooney, Charlie Sheen and Joan 
McCall (also produced by her husband!).  

Reviewed By Amanda By Night

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