I mean a movie called Cocaine Bear, yeah we’re going to talk about it. Get Elizabeth Banks in the director/producer chair and I’m headed to the theater. Put me in a vocal audience that talks back to the screen and screams at all of the jump scares? Yes, please!
So the inspiration for this comedy horror film is the true story of drug drop that got lost in the mountains of Tennessee back in the eighties. An American black bear (“Pablo Eskobear”) gets into the cocaine and fatally overdoses. Banks takes this wild tale and hilariously imagines how this plays out with a backstory on the drug dealers and the escapades of the cocaine finders.
Trust me, parts of this are wayyy stupid. But come on, it’s there in the title: Cocaine Bear. And it isn’t about some chef who does lines to keep the kitchen in order. More like the apex predator has emerged from High-Bear-Nation! The laughs start with the first surprise demise and they never stop.
The characters are interesting and full of life (until they aren’t), and it’s a marvelous cast. Margo Martindale as Blood Mountain’s Park Ranger is especially witty, and Christian Convery as young Henry shines. The rest of the cast holds up as well, delivering plenty of one-liners and inside jokes that add to the fun. Of course, there are a couple of excellent needle drops including a Depeche Mode song accompanying my favorite scene.
If you’re into horror-comedies, Cocaine Bear delivers. There are a lot of body parts, gore, jump scares, and bad decisions. Try and see it in the theater with a fun interactive audience. Oh, and stay for the bonus scene.