Into the Grizzly Maze

Don't be fooled by the title or bear sighting of this movie, this is actually a slasher movie in disguise. Every clichés from three decades ago is here , including bear killer that pops out of nowhere, people stumbling when being chased and even the incompetent acts from the characters simply because the demand of plot. It's a mix of cheap effect and surprisingly famous names, but still a B movie. The premise is simple, albeit slightly forced. A bear is on the loose, and this bear is particularly special for its murderous rampage. There are a lot of famous actors here such as Patrick Madsen, Thomas Jane and Billy Bob Thornton. All of which have plenty experience on action movies, even the supporting characters are familiar faces from either cinema or TV show. However, the large cast doesn't mean a good story. As a matter of fact, the movie attempts to create too many subplots and none of them feel fascinating. There's the usual estranged family bonded together over the crisis, the tough guy who's determined to cap this bear and a couple girls who seem like padding to prolong movie. This is far from a genuine survival story, the bear literally pops up out of nowhere like a paranormal stalker, which is strange considering the number of people assembled. It also has plot armor which makes the humans momentarily miss all their shots or this bulky bear manages to dodge in the nick of time. There's a mountain of inconsistencies here, and it just piles up towards the end, especially with the visibly subpar CGI. One might get a bit of enjoyment from the slight horror, but Into the Grizzly Maze is nothing more than a poor imitation of Jaws or slasher flick, only with bear.

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source: Into the Grizzly Maze

As a hunter and military man this was tough to watch. Its as if a tree hugger went out and made a hunting film. Let me just list the unbelievable happenings. I would not have been so disappointed except for the story build up. The people involved grew up hunting. The are all experienced woos people and yet they act like they are in the woods for the first time. 1. Deputy sees the bear, instead of using his hunting rifle he pulls out his pistol and starts shooting at long range. Of course he just hits trees. 2. 4 people and 2 rifles, 1 of which is a dart rifle. So they throw the dart rifle away because everyone knows 1 rifle is better than 2. 3. The scene i was looking forward to was billy bob meeting the bear, and everyone who watches these shows knows the bad hunter would lose. But they didn't even show the first meeting. All you heard was some shots and then you see his horse running away. Such a let down. 4. The group is down to 1 rifle and when the hero goes off to let the bear astray, of course in the first encounter he loses the rifle. 5. The sheriff knows there's a killer bear in the woods. So when he goes to meet the group he brings a shotgun and no extra rifles. Every beginning hunter knows you don't bring a shotgun hunting big game. And where are the big bore handguns experienced people carry in bear country. What we see are little semi autos being used at long range hitting a lot of branches. 6. So we see an experienced nature photographer out in the woods setting snares. So what happens when she sees a bear? She walks into the trap she just set. Really??? 7. The hero says he will take the first watch. There's a killer bear out here after all, but when he gets cold he crawls into a tent and neglects to tell anyone. Of course thats when the bear comes. The scenery was great and the acting was good but so unbelievable unless you have never been in the woods.

Into the Grizzly Maze is about as low grade B-movie as you can get, with the exception of its start lit cast. Basically a horror film where an animal is the killer, ala Jaws or more closely Anaconda, Into the Grizzly Maze is about two brothers who must reunite despite their strained relationship in order to hunt down a bear on a killing spree. Set in the Alaskan wilderness, these men, along with other trained experts, think they are on the animals trail to only find out the unrelenting grizzly bear is in fact stalking them. I'll admit, I don't like animal horror films. I dislike the idea of an animal on the rampage because typically it sparks unnecessary paranoia. Especially since I am on the east coast where bears seem to be wandering into populated area, thanks to deforestation, and the group terror causes them to be put down rather than relocated. But, the relative mystery of the film's existence coupled with the name-y cast was enough for me to give it a try. Coincidentally, Into the Grizzly Maze is a terrible film with a flimsy unoriginal plot and horrible CGI. No amount of actors such as James Marsden, Piper Perabo, Thomas Jane or Billy Bob Thornton can save it, though their acting is far beyond the subject matter of the film. The film is just your basic 'killer animal on the loose' film and seems to have devolved from the original premise of being based on Timothy Treadwell's life. Overall, the film just does not work. Despite a couple of grisly deaths, the film is not scary. Perhaps it is because of the bear, who though we know to be dangerous and powerful, just comes across as lumbering and slow on screen. The director does nothing to add to the menace or to highlight the strength and hazards of the creatures clawed paws or gigantic jaw. The use of green screen for death scenes and poor CGI when the bear was supposed to be touching and attacking characters is distracting and almost laughable. Into the Grizzly Maze is without merit in being green lit for film, and it is no wonder this film was released on the down low. There's no character development or back story, except when told cheaply through conversations. It is without creativity and talent and is wholly unoriginal. Please check out our website for full reviews of all the recent releases.

"Even grizzlies can get lost down there." Rowan (Marsden) has finally come back home after being gone too long. He wants to head into the dangerous grizzly maze for hiking. His brother, Beckett (Jane) doesn't want him to go due to the recent attacks. Reluctantly Beckett heads in to protect Rowan, find his wife, and and find the bear before it attacks again. This is a movie that you pretty much know what your going to get. Action and tenseness. The cast is pretty amazing for a movie like this. The movie is exciting and entertaining but some of the actual story gets lost in between the action. That isn't a bad thing but when you watch this you watch it for one reason. This is the type of movie where you can almost predict whats going to happen and there aren't any real surprises, but that said it is entertaining and well worth your time. Overall, not as good as The Edge, but still exciting and the cast makes it better than it actually is. I give this a B.

The cast was a definite appeal for me: James Marsden, Piper Perabo, Billy Bob Thornton, Thomas Jane and Scott Glenn are all actors that I enjoy usually. And although they aren't terrible I don't think any of them shine in their roles, but then they didn't have much to work with; the characters are all pretty flat with little to no character development. The script is not well-written (to put it mildly) in fact it reminds me of the typical creature feature that SyFy channel mass-produces by the dozens every year, but with better acting and better music. Extremely clichéd and no real suspense, I mean there were attempts at suspense but it all felt pretty flat just like the rest of the movie. PS, Piper Perabo plays a deaf-mute woman so she has no dialogue, in case you were like me looking forward to see her act again she does so just by gestures and facial expressions. I recommend Backcountry aka Blackfoot Trail instead.

Didn't know what to expect heading into this other than it sounded interesting to me. I was at the least hoping it wasn't going to be a cgi fest and it wasn't. Minimally used from what I noticed and mostly used in the last few moments. The actors did decent enough jobs...although Billy Bobs dialogue was laid on a bit thick I thought. I was surprised Piper's character was chosen to be deaf. Being a nature photographer(I believe) in what seemed like a heavily populated bear zone would not be my 1st choice of a career for sure. It's hard enough to hear critters in the woods at times when your not deaf! Bart the Bear (II) did a fine job with what he had to work with...lol! There are a few not so perfect moments. For instance: You had an earlier encounter with a man eating grizzly, your now supposed to be on night "guard" duty at camp and you end up climbing into a tent to get warm/catch some Z's! Doh!!!!!! I haven't seen many movies themed around a bear like this, don't really think there are many anyway, but i would probably rank this movie 3rd behind the gems: The Edge and The Bear. I rate this about a 6.7 out of 10.

This film is by no means Shakespeare, but as far as man vs animal films this is the best, and by best I mean they don't cheat you on the animal interactions. When it comes to films like "Razorback" or "Orca" or "The Edge" or "The Brotherhood of the Wolf" or "The Ghost and the Darkness" or even "Jaws" - the animal effects are minimal. What you see are glimpses and teases of the animal. What you came to see is the beast in all its glory, and that's exactly what you get in this film. Although the dialog isn't fantastic, it is adequate, and everyone does their part with the acting. But you didn't watch this show for the dialog, you came to see the bear, and that's precisely what you get in "Grizzly". I was astonished at the close-up fights the bear has with numerous characters, they looked extremely real and I didn't know how they pulled it off. Which is why I have to recommend this movie.