Graduating from high school, friends dirt bike-riding in the mountains accidentally kill a Grizzly Bear cub and causes the infuriated mother bear to hunt them down with a vengeance, forcing them to resort to whatever they can to stop the bear and get out of the woods alive. This was a pretty pleasant surprise at times. One of its best points is that this really feels realistic and probable, as the central idea of them being stranded comes off well with a slew of scenes that further showcase this. From the panic and confusion that set in during the first attack to the whole series of scenes that show them taking care of the situation, this one really feels quite believable as they make it a priority to remain level-headed and come up with some unique ways to try to survive. Also pleasing here is the use of a live-action bear instead of CGI for the titular creature which is a pleasant surprise. What works most of all, though, is that the film has an incredible last half which is one long showdown made up of a series of smaller ones that try out several different tactics to use that build excitement rather than just some singular ones that do nothing, and here that results in a long showdown that is exciting, action-packed and containing some really great tactical ideas into it, and it leaves the film with a positive impact along with the thrilling attack on the jeep which is the perfect way to carry it out. There wasn't a whole lot here that doesn't work, as while the bear isn't CGI there are times when it's obvious that stunt- work is involved. It switches to a jerking close-up of the stunt-limb whenever this happens, and when it does it draws attention to the tactic. Another big flaw is the incredibly small cast which dwindles the available cast as the film has to have a set of survivors. That can also lead to pacing problems if the characters irritate. There's way too little inactivity in the beginning as all the action is at the end, leaving the beginning really slow-going. It's mostly made up of them going through endless scenes of playing around in the forest before the accident which is the start of even more scenes of them coming to terms with the situation which is quite a pain to sit through. Otherwise this one isn't all that bad at all.Rated R: Graphic Language and Violence.

2007's "Grizzly Rage" would have worked as a one-hour TV show (with commercials), but not as it is, an 86-minute film.This is a 'confined-location' creature-on-the-loose film in the manner of "Prey" and "Black Water," both also released in 2007. Like those films "Grizzly Rage" takes the material seriously with zero self-parodying, which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The main problem with all three films is their thin plots. A group of people are harassed and hunted by a fearsome animal (a bear, lion and croc respectively) in a confined location. Some might survive, some won't. Both "Prey" and "Black Water" are able to (barely) get over this weakness with pretty good results, but "Grizzly Rage" fails.There's just too much time devoted to what is essentially a 45-minute story, which means there's about 35-40 minutes of padding where we watch people climb cliffs, walk in the forest, stroll in their SUV, have meaningless conversations, etc. Needless to say, these scenes are mind-numbingly boring.Another problem is an overlong and unbelievable sequence where the survivors coast in their broke-down SUV when, up to that point, there was no evidence of hilly terrain to coast down – it's all relatively flat (!). This reflects unimaginative, pad-the-runtime writing.Thankfully, there are some good aspects that make the film somewhat worthwhile for some: a quality cast, particularly the two main protagonists, the beautiful Kate Todd with her stunning face and blond hair, and Tyler Hoechlin, who is a good masculine principal with semi-angular facial features in the manner of the Sub-Mariner. The cast take the material seriously and are convincing.The 'confined location' is the outskirts of Winnipeg. Although this area isn't scenic or notable at all, it's nice to have one of these films shot somewhere besides British Columbia or Eastern Europe for a change.The film features a real, huge grizzly throughout, no cartooney CGI.There's also a 4-minute sequence early in the second act featuring the moving song "Belonging" by Jet Set Satellite. It's a great song and the sequence makes the viewer wake up and take notice.But the film's fatally bogged down by too much runtime and not enough plot. Still, it's worthwhile if you like these types of flicks and the positives noted above trip your trigger.GRADE: C- (I'm being generous)

It isn't very often that I'm treated to Canadian horror or science fiction films with legitimate thrills and chills. David Cronenberg has conjured up a few, for instance, but my fellow Canucks don't really do horror all that well. Perhaps there's a reason for that, but we'll not get into some sort of deep philosophical discussion here. Indeed, there are a few moments in Canadian cinema history that do offer some frightful experiences. Grizzly Rage, however, is not one of them.Now obviously the sort of straight-to-cable-movie-network stuff that makes up Grizzly Rage (aka Off Road) isn't going to be all that good. It's B-movie stuff, from start to finish, with a low budget, poor production values, bad acting, and terrible everything else. Yet for some reason, I couldn't stop watching it. Truth be told, I had no intention of making it beyond the first exploratory few minutes and I certainly had no intention of giving up some valuable space and time for a review.Yet here I am.Grizzly Rage was filmed in Manitoba, which alone is a pretty good selling point. The natural setting is quite lovely to look at, with lots of forest to work with. Sadly, director David LeCocteau had no interest in really showing things off. The movie is a part of the Sci Fi Network's ten-film "Maneater" series (don't ask me, I don't know anything about it) and follows a simple cast of four as they venture through the aforementioned Manitoba forest while an enraged, hopped-up- on-biological-waste (maybe) grizzly bear stalks them.Shaun Stover (Graham Kosakoski), Ritch Petroski (Brody Harms), Wes Harding (Tyler Hoechlin), and Lauren Findley (Kate Todd) are the four characters. They are college grads, of course, and they aim to celebrate their recent graduation by heading off into the forest to race around and cause havoc. It doesn't take long before they trash their vehicle (quite a few times, actually) and wind up killing a grizzly bear cub. This raises the ire of the mother, who stalks the four methodically despite never appearing on screen with the humans. That's basically it.Grizzly Rage is idiotic, but it is not offensively idiotic. There is nothing to fear in the film, save for the stupidity of the characters and their ridiculous meandering. And the bear, played by Koda, really isn't given a lot to do. Koda mostly roars and stands up, having been fed marshmallows to make it smile (I'm not kidding). The rest of the bear parts are filled with what appears to be a giant stuffed bear head and flimsy bear paws, presumably operated on the ends of broomsticks. There is no bear-to-human contact and the only indicator that Koda is doing any damage at all comes in the computer graphic blood that splashes the camera.Indeed, Grizzly Rage almost works as an exploitation flick, but it simply isn't violent or titillating. Lead actress Kate Todd is cute, but she doesn't provide any sort of sexual tension or character enticement that could have raised the blood pressure of this yarn. Instead, she's pretty bland…just like everyone else.Grizzly Rage was never intended to be good. Made by journeyman schlock director LeCocteau, who was responsible for Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama and Test Tube Teens from the Year 2000, I was expecting more in the camp department. Alas, this movie even fails there, offering no campy humour or ridiculous send-ups. Grizzly Rage is pretty much just mindless fluff, but it passes the time.

I don't get what everyone is complaining about. This flick has something for everyone: cute, sweet blond chick (Kate Todd) for the guys; undressed male hunk (Tyler Hoechlin) for the girls; grizzly wins (for the tree huggers); and a really, really stupid bunch of characters (not the cast) for Darwin! It starts with four new high school grads, one maybe the valedictorian, who set out on a summer excursion, but change their planned destination by a vote of three to one. We start thinking maybe this is going to be a parody on blond jokes since the sweetie is the only one for sticking to the plan.But no, off they go to break into a restricted area. Then racing down an unfamiliar curvy, dirt road at 60 mph, the driver hits a bear cub and rams a tree, sticking a limb trough the radiator. Gosh, no water and momma bear is ticked.Two of the crew get busted up by the bear while trying to find water, the initial driver terminally, and the other three scarper in the truck (apparently the radiator is self healing). Then the injured mate (ah, los amigos... is this LA or Manitoba?) decides they can't leave their dead buddy and wrestles with the driver until they wreck.The driver then starts on a 20 klick run (in flip-flops no less) for help, but momma bear has him for porridge. After several other unbelievable misadventures the girl and the male stripper trap the bear in a building and stand around congratulating themselves (the innate blondness finally comes through), until the bear breaks down the door and comes out to eat them.Darwin rules!