Ursine threats have been a prominent selling point in recent years, with Cocaine Bear (2023) and Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) attracting much attention, whether positive or negative. Both cases, however, massively distort true events or works of fiction to make their mad ideas work. Grizzly Night’s aims to take things more seriously and adhere to true events are admirable, but hampered by frequently lacklustre execution.
★★☆☆☆
Grizzly Night tells the story of the night of August 12th-13th 1967 at Glacier National Park, where two young women were attacked and killed by grizzly bears. The event was recounted by journalist Jack Olsen in the 1969 book Night of the Grizzlies, and resulted in the implementation of bear management policies across American national parks.
Writers Katrina Methewson and Tanner Bean wisely decide to focus their screenplay on a few key characters. Lauren Call plays Joan Devereaux, a young new park ranger, whose plucky demeanour is challenged when she is forced to deal with an unprecedented situation so early on in the job. Charles Esten is her stern but understanding boss Gary, who is probably the strongest character in the film. Completing the ensemble are various visitors and campers, whose fun night is cut short by the imminent danger and the tragic events occurring outside their tents.
The screenplay does get one thing right: it understands and respects the severity of the situation. There’s always a temptation to overdo and overstylise violence in these types of films, but the savage attacks in Grizzly Night are kept off-screen and it’s the characters that are responsible for the drama. This could be because of budgetary reasons, but nevertheless it’s admirable when a film like this emphasises restraint. The performances are a mixed bag, but most of the actors (particularly those playing the campers) are at least able to make the moments of fear and tension feel real, especially when proceedings sadly turn fatal.
Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end. For one thing, the film doesn’t feel committed to its setting. The location footage looks great, but that’s the only thing the film does convincingly to establish a time and place. The events it’s depicting took place in 1967, but the only indications the film is actually set then are a clumsy reference to Jefferson Airplane, and a shoehorned discussion of the hippie movement that stops the film momentum dead in its tracks. Other than that, the group of young campers could come out of any modern thriller—the only thing missing is some iPhones in their hands.
Tonally the film is all over the shop. It’s integral to Joan’s character that she is supposed to be very eager to do well in her role as park ranger, but Call’s performance is overly plucky in places, somewhat reminiscent of Judy Hopps from Zootopia. Likewise, the group of campers can feel like they’ve wandered out of a modern teen comedy, which not only reinforces the lack of care given to the setting, but can really cause a sense of whiplash when events take a darker turn. Unexpectedly, it’s in the serious drama where Grizzly Night succeeds the most, though it’s debatable how much of that is down to the feeling of relief that the film has finally got to the interesting bit.
Perhaps the biggest flaw with Grizzly Night is that it comes across as an amateur production. The structure is clunky, with characters randomly appearing again after vanishing from large swathes of the narrative, and Burke Doeren’s direction feels flat.
Grizzly Night is obviously a film not made for much money by a team that is really passionate about telling the story, and the determination has to be applauded. It’s just a pity that the film they made is a generic and clunky thriller that doesn’t utilise the strengths it has as well as it should. There is potential here, but it’s not seen often enough.
The Verdict
Grizzly Night’s tonal inconsistencies and weak delivery weigh down what could have been a well-made survival story.
Words by Alex Paine
Grizzly Night will be available on Digital & DVD from 2nd February
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