Grizzly and Grizzly II: (The) Predator: The Concert, the workprint
November 16, 2013 3:42 PM   Subscribe

"Even from its earliest scenes Grizzly plays like a cheap B movie version of Jaws and that's really what it is." Somehow, Grizzly was actually released less than a year after Jaws was theatrically released. Unlike the quick turn-around for the first Grizzly movie, filming for the sequel didn't happen for another 7 to 9 years, and the movie was actually shelved before it was completed. Generally, the sequel to a knock-off wouldn't be too interesting, but Grizzly II: The Predator (also known as Predator: The Concert) is notable for early appearances of George Clooney, Charlie Sheen, and Laura Dern in small supporting roles, and the workprint features songs by Michael Jackson as a place-holder soundtrack. This existence of the workprint was a myth told by horror movie nerds, until a copy leaked out in 2007. As described in the Twitchfilm review, "there are two things to watch this footage for, and a grizzly bear is neither of them. Activity #1 would be the "Holy shit, that's actually {actor X} right there!" game ... and Activity #2 would be gaping, slack-jawed, with a pulsating vein in your forehead, as the outrageously awful mid-'80s synth tunes cascade across your unwitting cranium." For your viewing (dis)pleasure: Grizzly and Grizzly II: (The) Predator: The Concert, both in full on YouTube.
posted by filthy light thief (11 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 


Man I just skipped ahead to about 15 minutes and god-damned if Bob Marley isn't in this thing too.
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:10 PM on November 16, 2013


I'm only ten minutes in to Grizzly 2 and it's already deliciously terrible.

Redneck #1 (scratching his face with a wrench): How big you say that there bear was?
Redneck #2: 15 feet .. 20 feet ... hell, big as that damn tree! (pointing at a tree that is much larger than 20 ft).

oh hey, and there's Bob Marley now!
posted by mannequito at 5:29 PM on November 16, 2013




oh man, I wandered away to have dinner and came back right at the climax. It's an absolute mess - half finished shots with no sound, fireworks and explosions and guy running around on fire, there's a dude trying to fight the grizzly with a forklift, then John Rhys Davies runs up and starts stabbing the bear repeatedly, and the concert is still going the whole time. Fucking awesome.
posted by mannequito at 7:35 PM on November 16, 2013


Yup, it's a workprint, missing much of the titular Grizzly and the final effects.

And if anyone thinks the second title for the sequel (Predator: The Concert) is some rip on Predator, Grizzly II was supposedly filmed in 1985, when Predator was only a script. Then again, maybe they were trying to get ahead of the curve with the next hit horror/monster film.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:57 PM on November 16, 2013


So, is that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's 'Vedek Winn' around the 4 minute mark?
posted by desperaterobots at 4:32 AM on November 17, 2013


I will watch this in full tonight (it's way too early to start drinking). The first 10 minutes is quite possibly the most 80s thing I've ever seen, and the first kill where you only see its paw and the hunter flying off was a thing of beauty, so I have... high expectations.
posted by cj_ at 9:07 AM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]


Tim Spall as one of the concert roadies. Who *isn't* in this film?
posted by John Shaft at 12:24 PM on November 17, 2013


Man, between the original Grizzy, Jaws, and the vampire bats invading the underground nuclear bunker in Chosen Survivors, it's amazing I left the mid-70s with my love of animals intact.
posted by mediareport at 12:28 PM on November 17, 2013


Grizzly was the first PG movie I saw by myself. Hard to believe I was 10.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:39 AM on November 18, 2013


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