COCAINE BEAR (2023)
There are some movies that you just have to see. After seeing the trailer for Cocaine Bear, I had this feeling like it was a movie I needed to see. Watching Violent Night last December was a similar experience where the trailer presented a unique and singular experience so ludicrous, so gleefully insane, that it had to be seen to be believed. The trailers for both films sold the movies perfectly.
Cocaine Bear is exactly what the trailer gives you; a bear wacked out of its mind on cocaine going on a bloody rampage through the forest. That's it. And it doesn't need to be any more than that. In this it is pure, it is gloriously entertaining, and a pulpy popcorn affair at a brisk 95 minutes. One other movie comes to mind and it feels strikingly appropriate: SNAKES ON A PLANE. If you're familiar with that movie, it's premise, marketing, and execution, just set your expectations for Cocaine Bear in a similar mindspace.
I mean all of this as a compliment, not a detriment nor a mark against Cocaine Bear. This is pure entertainment and fun! And we need more movies like this.
SYNOPSIS
A shipment of cocaine from south of the border is dumped in a Tennessee national forest via airplane (Operation Cocaine Drop) and a bear comes into contact with it. The bear becomes addicted to it. And the bear starts ripping hikers apart to get to more cocaine spread out through the forest.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
From the moment the film starts you're instantly set in a good mood with the groovy beats of "Jane" by Jefferson Starship. For that matter, the film score by Mark Mothersbaugh is very good, possessing a synth wave 80s esthetic that really captures the era and sets a fun mood. This style of music seems like a specialty of the composer's as he also did something similar for THOR: RAGNAROK. Personally, I've really been enjoying NEW RETRO WAVE music and this score feels akin to this.
The mood overall is slapsticky and fun, feeling like pure entertainment from beginning to end. As I kind of outlined in the intro, if set yourself in the headspace of a film like Snakes on a Plane or Violent Night or even Krampus (2015) and Piranha (2010) you'll love this movie. There's copious amounts of blood, profanity, and sheer grizzly spectacle, everything an audience could want! The actors are just as over the top as the premise and everything meshes together fairly well.
The only beef I have with Cocaine Bear is with... well, the Cocaine Bear herself. The CGI works well enough, but doesn't have the weight or presence that I would've liked. What I mean by that is that, while the CGI largely works, it never creates the illusion that you're watching a real bear. It's a nitpick, bearly a problem, and nothing that one can't bear. In a way it helps cement the fun factor of the movie. For a genuine bear ripping people to shreds, check out the great bear attack movie THE EDGE (1997). For more fun bear revelry, check out the 70s jaws with paws film, GRIZZLY (1976).
THE VERDICT
I had a good time with Cocaine Bear. Bearly a hardship to watch, this was a great time at the movie theater. The movie knows what it is and succeeds in its quest for violent over the top savage glee. You can go far worse than Cocaine Bear at the movies nowadays.
Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10 = above average awesomeness!
For more horror films and our thoughts on them, check out these posts below!
