Lost sequel from 1983 finally released in 2020-2021
At Yellowstone National Park a colossal mother grizzly is enraged by the slaying of her cub by poachers. She goes on a killing spree, but the timing is bad because a highly publicized rock concert is scheduled and can’t be cancelled just because of a rogue bear. Steve Inwood plays the chief ranger, Deborah Foreman his daughter, Deborah Raffin a bruin expert, John Rhys-Davies a grizzly hunter and Louise Fletcher a politician.
"Grizzly II: Revenge" is the sequel to the “Jaws” knockoff “Grizzly” (1976) shot in 45 days in Hungary in 1983. Unfortunately post-production was never completed due to financial troubles and the movie was forgotten by 1988. Its very existence was questioned until a workprint manifested in 2007. The only reason the film exists and was finally released in 2020-2021 is because of the dedication of producer Suzanne Nagy.
Whilst George Clooney, Laura Dern and Charlie Sheen are emphasized in the cast they are actually only featured in the first six minutes. But it is interesting seeing these iconic actors when they were so young and before they made it. I was never big on Laura but, wow, she’s stunning here and immediately changed my opinion of her. Meanwhile Sheen turned down the starring role in “Karate Kid” (1984) for this gig (of course he had no way of knowing that “Karate Kid” was going to be a megahit).
The flick has the concept of the original movie but the look & tone of “Prophecy” (1979) mixed with a lot of energetic concert footage. Speaking of which, you’ll see the kinetic performances of several early 80’s acts, like Toto Coelo, The Predator, Set the Tone and KFT, but also a couple songs by the modern band The Dayz, which were added in post-production to beef-up the concert scenes and runtime.
I thought the original “Grizzly” was too prosaic as a “Jaws”-in-the-forest flick. It was okay, but nothing more. This one also contains the basic “Jaws” plot yet it’s more dynamic with several highlights, including its fascinating history. Sure, its troubled production is obvious, especially at the end, and it’s just another creature-on-the-loose flick, but there’s enough good here to entertain those interested.
The film is streamlined at 1 hour, 14 minutes, and was shot in the area of Pilisvörösvár, Hungary, which is just northwest of Budapest. The concert scenes were filmed after a performance of Nazareth wherein the crowd wasn’t aware a movie was being shot. It was the largest gathering in Hungary since the revolution in 1956. The sets were built on a Russian military base.
GRADE: B-
