GRIZZLY II: REVENGE (2020) Movie Review

Grizzly II: Revenge (2020) d. Andre Szots (USA) (74 min)

Other than the fact that its plot centers around another big killer bear on the loose, this has no connection to William Girdler’s 1976 “Jaws with Paws” drive-in classic. Screenwriters Joan McCall and David Shelton borrow from the “This Time It’s Personal” playbook with a mother bear avenging the death of her cubs at the hands of poachers by murdering everyone in her path. Shot in 1982 in Hungary (with American money), the drama that went on behind the camera is far more fascinating than anything that transpires before it, ranging from the collection of talent assembled to the financial wheeling and dealing that ended up with the workprint languishing on backroom shelves for nearly four decades.

THE BRIDE (1985) Blu-ray review

The Bride (1985) d. Franc Roddam (UK) (118 min)

An inspired extension of James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein, this sumptuous costume drama captures the Gothic look and feel with fine production design and sturdy acting even as it fails to engage emotionally. The film begins on course, with great-looking laboratory scenes of mad doctor Charles (?) Frankenstein (Sting) animating Eva (Jennifer Beals) to be his first creation’s (Clancy Brown) mate. But the seams begin to show when the plotline splits in two: One half following the original creature (dubbed “Viktor”), shunned by both mate and creator, in his travels while the other observes Frankenstein as he dresses up his newest creation as an independent society lady at home.