By The Double Feature: Versus crew takes a look at “COCAINE BEAR”
Synopsis
An oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converge on a Georgia forest where a huge black bear goes on a murderous rampage after unintentionally ingesting cocaine.
Blak’s commentary
To say “Cocaine Bear” is a disappointment…well, is to say exactly that – it’s a disappointment. Instead of following in the terrific, campy footsteps of “Snakes on a Plane” and balancing the mix of comedy and horror, “Cocaine” instead has an identity crisis. When the horror moments come along, the film brings out strong, gory thrills, when it tries to be funny, it’s a dry slog. There is little to no chemistry among the cast, the would-be funny dialogue falls flat and the character development (or purpose) is non-existent. Margo Martindale and Ray Liotta (R.I.P.) aside, the cast tries to work with what they have in terms of dialogue but they can only carry the material so far. “Cocaine Bear” could have been a terrific, focused horror film, because it tries to go the horror-comedy route, it fails to see the forest for the trees.
2 / 5
Brad’s commentary
When you hear a film called “Cocaine Bear” is coming, there is an expectation set for that movie. The premise itself is absurd and nonsensical, which means the movie itself should be absurd and nonsensical as well. All the pieces exist within “Cocaine Bear” to be a great B horror movie, but it falters on the important ones. First off the movie does not play its best hand when it comes to the comedy aspect. When you have a bear hopped up on cocaine and people dealing with that situation there should be some good comedy to go along with the absurdity of the situation. Instead we get jokes that falter, one liners that make no sense, and a cast that is underutilized for the film at hand. While the film does great with its tension and horror elements featuring the bear, everything around those scenes are dull. The film has a very loose plot that has more a focus on the people trying to retrieve the cocaine than the bear itself. This would be like if “Jaws” was more focused on the lives of the fisherman that happen to come across the shark, than the shark itself. The bear seems to just be a moving object in this movie, and not the main focus of it. Which would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact the scenes without the bear are overly wordy, cliche, and boring.
2.5 / 5
Double Feature: Versus Podcast
Check out Blak and Brad’s full thoughts on COCAINE BEAR as well as SNAKES ON A PLANE on the latest episode, available to listen to now!
Double Feature VS is a podcast series in which two friends Anthony and Brad step in front of the mic and clash heads, come together, break up, and come together again on the subject of two competing films on each episode. Directorial debut vs Sophomore slump (or success), critically acclaimed vs fan-favorite, original vs sequel, blond vs ginger, ebony vs melanin, etc. The possibilities? Endless. The arguments? Futile. The debates? Epic (also humorous). The combination of audio material, written film reviews and video commentaries (all found on doublefeaturevs.com) are all part of what makes this a great new series for cinephiles, moviegoers, movie lovers and everybody in-between.
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