Cocaine Bear Review from Universal Pictures!

The schlock world of horror is no stranger to animals gone amok films. They have been done to death with every animal you could possibly think of (snakes, rabbits, frogs, dogs, and worms to name a few). The Bear is no exception receiving treatment in Grizzly, Claws, Backcountry, Prophecy, Unnatural, Bear, Into the Grizzly Maze, Yellowfangs, Berserker, The Edge, Grizzly Park, and more. In fact, you could say it’s been mauled to death and then some.

Enter successful actor and director Elizabeth Banks (The Lego Movie, Brightburn, Hunger Games) with Cocaine Bear, based on a real incident that occurred in 1985 with a drug drop/pickup gone wrong and a black bear in Chattahoochee national park. The trailer makes Cocaine Bear look funny and appealing but in actuality the trailer was the best thing about the film. That and the ridiculous ad campaigns. I remember one ad simply featuring a cardboard cut-out of bear placed on the chute of a snowblower as the snowblower discharged its white payload, making the bear cut out looking like cocaine shooting out of it.

The film has been successful as I have heard random people in person expressing their interest in checking it out. Cocaine Bear has social media buzzing. Prepare yourself for the endless direct to streaming plethora of similar titles that will attempt to cash in on its notoriety. It’s a simple formula really; take any animal name and pair it with an illegal street drug.

Director Elizabeth Banks is a familiar face starring in many roles such as Brightburn, Hunger Games, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. There are lots of small bit part comedy actors in this too plus Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Ray Liotta in his last film role before passing away. The movie is dedicated to Liotta during the end credits.

After a botched drug drop, supplier Syd played by Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Hannibal, No Escape) sends in a couple of cronies named Eddie played by Alden Ehrenreich (Tetro, Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Daveed played by O’shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton, Godzilla: King of The Monsters) to go wandering around Chattahoochee National Park to find the dropped kilos of cocaine. A curious black bear finds one of the duffle bags first and helps himself to the drugs. The Bear becomes a drug-fuelled monster killing tourists and anyone else who gets in its way.

We get a bunch of characters along for the ride. Sari played by Kerri Russell (Antlers, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) is searching for her missing children. Bob the cop played by Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Da 5 Bloods, BlacKkKlansman) is looking to get the drugs before the dealers do. We get a bumbling forest ranger named Liz played by Margo Martindale (Orphan, Family Squares) and a wildlife expert named Peter played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family, Ice Age: Collision Course). Basically, a bunch of eccentric characters encountering the bear ensuing in chaos.

Cocaine Bear looked promising but it’s a muddled mish mash of characters and chaotic interactions that go nowhere. It’s overlong, the humour is only mildly amusing, and the thin amount of gore featured is CGI. I was really hoping for more of a good time going into this one, but its gimmick wore off quickly. The character actors all look familiar, and I’ve seen many of them in different roles/films, but I found myself detached from most of them and rooting for the bear. Not even Liotta’s sleazy druggie role adds up to much in this. Cocaine Bear may spark your interest with its appealing trailer but watch awhile and you’ll be wondering why you decided to stay.

Directed by: Elizabeth Banks
Written by: Jimmy Warden
Produced by: Elizabeth Banks, Brian Duffield, Max Handelman, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Aditya Sood
Cinematography by: John Guleserian
Editing by: Joel Negron
Music by: Mark Mothersbaugh
Special Effects by: Weta Workshop, Film FX Ireland
Cast: Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ray Liotta, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Brooklynn Prince
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 35min

Studio: Brownstone Productions, Lord Miller
Distributor: Universal Pictures