Universal has always been a company that i’ve admired. One element of that administration is of the theme parks. I’ve always had a love for both Universal Studios resorts in the United States and since getting into horror i’ve had a love for their yearly celebration of scares titled “Halloween Horror Nights”. The bigger element that I admire that plays more into their filmography is the fact that they always have taken chances on things that the other studios didn’t want to put out. This goes back all the way to when the Universal Monsters were introduced. They started a boom that became the monster movies movement of that time period. They were also the first to try out the B Movies formula in the 50s in terms of bigger studios. One of the more popular examples of this is the fact that multiple studios passed on Back To The Future based purely on some of the more risqué elements of the film. Universal took on the film and it became one of their most popular films to date. One modern example of this is how Universal has let Blumhouse run loose. Some of their films have not been very good, but many of them have changed the face of the horror genre and have become standout flicks in the genre themselves. Hell, this year’s slate includes a sassy dancing robot, a one location Shyamalan flick and a film with Nicolas Cage as Dracula.
The film in question for this review might be the riskiest they’re putting out this whole year. A balls to the wall excessively R rated flick about a bear who ends up snorting a bunch of cocaine and going on a rampage. Like most of Universal’s past, they’re taking a chance on a film that might not end up being a hit, but they let the filmmaker and crew run wild with this one. Is Cocaine Bear a massive hit on their record of bonkers films or is it a complete miss? Let’s get into that.
Cocaine Bear’s premise is quite simple, a drug dealer drops tons of coke in a forest and it’s found by a bear. The bear eats it and goes on a crazy coke bender while multiple people stand in the way of the bear getting his next hit. This one was surprising to me similar to M3GAN. A premise that could come out as just a simple horror flick turns into something of a satire. The satire in this film is one on the drug scare during the 80s. The film itself starts out with a montage of drug PSAs at the time including “this is your brain on drugs” and the Pee Wee Herman Crack commercial.
The film also knows what it is in terms of the horror angle. This film plays out like an 80s slasher film does and they almost revel in some of the stereotypes of that style of horror film. To put it simply, it’s an 80s slasher film with a touch of anti-drug PSA. The film has a scene at the beginning where the kids try Coke that they found in the woods, they soon find out about the existence of the coked out bear. The bear in their eyes is a warning to never do drugs again. The film replaces real life horrors that one could experience in the presence of drugs with a bear going around killing people while high as shit.
The kills in the movie and the bear itself is probably the standout elements of the film. The film is rated 18A all around Canada which means for anyone unaware, that the film goes hard on its R rating. Some R rated films out here get a 14A which essentially means it’s either light R or a medium R. 18A is where the big boys come out to play so to speak. Some recent films that got that 18A have been Babylon, Titane, Terrifier 2, Infinity Pool and that new Winnie The Pooh slasher. There’s also an R in the ratings system which usually is reserved for anything that would be considered NC-17 in the United States. Some recent examples of that are the NC-17 cut of Possessor and the NC-17 Cut of The House That Jack Built.
There are some kills in this film that are truly grotesque. One of them has a guy get shot in the head and you see everything inside his head for several seconds. Another kill that stood out was one where a woman falls out of an ambulance and is dragged behind it by her face. This film could have taken the easy route and made some kills that were gory but didn’t push the line, but this film decided to go over and above with its carnage.
The bear is also a stand out as you watch it go on a crazy bender that leads to some insanity. Because they used a CGI bear, it has a lot of animation with its performance leading to more wild hilarity. The bear was also very vocal on twitter when it comes to the marketing of the film. Similar to what they did with M3GAN, the cocaine bear has a sort of popularity on social media that will definitely draw people into seeing the film. The film has vibes of Grizzly when it comes to the 80s bear attack style, but the bear has a wild personality to go with it.
The performances are good for the type of film that this is. It’s very much an ensemble piece as many in the film are only there to die. The characters that were apart of the mainline story and had a stake in the plot did well with what they had. It’s one of those films that you’re not really there to see the actors, you’re there to see the coked up bear. You could probably say similar things about M3GAN and Violent Night, the David Harbour Santa Claus film that came out last year. You’re not there for any groundbreaking stories or perspectives, you just wanna see the wild carnage.
The film is quite smart despite it being very much a film for “fun” as there’s some great satire about the 80s, drugs, and slasher films present in the script. The film is set in the 80s during this overall drug scare period, so the way the characters are presented, even the bear plays into and sometimes makes fun of the stereotypical actions and reactions of those at that time period. While the film ultimately has a “don’t do drugs kids” style ending, it still has fun with the premise at hand.
Cocaine Bear to put it simply is exactly what you think it’s going to be, a wild 80s style slasher that uses a bear on a coke bender as its central villain. The vicious kills, the time adjacent satire in the writing and the bear itself makes this one a worthy watch for any genre fans out there. I’m happy that Universal is willing to put its stock in these wild films as the ones so far this year have been my favourite films of the year. Bring on more wild director driven genre flicks Universal!
The Rating:
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