Grizzly Rage

Plot:

Four friends decide to head into a marked off area of the forest, as a way to celebrate their recent graduation from college. Wes and his girlfriend Lauren are joined by his friends Rich and Sean. They accidentally hit something, which turns out to be a bear cub and in the distance, they can hear the sounds of the momma bear. They attempt to escape, only to discover that the car is severely damaged and in need of water. It’s a battle of wills, as the bear grows closer and their numbers diminish.

Trivia:

Part of the Maneater series, which had its premier in the United States on the SyFy Channel.

Thoughts:

I’ve heard a lot of bad things about this movie and I’m going to play devil’s advocate because this is by far not the worst movie I’ve seen. It’s easily one of the more entertaining movies from the Maneater series and I think I’ve seen most of them. The problem is that it isn’t really a horror movie. You have scenes of a bear in the wild and then scenes of people running from the bear or acting scared of the bear. It kind of reminds me of a 70s flick, where they mix scenes of nature with scenes of actors. It doesn’t really work, but the actors are some nice eye candy.

Raging Sharks

Plot:

This is what happens when sharks meet aliens! Two spaceships collide and a vessel is accidentally dropped into the ocean. Mike Olsen and his wife Linda are on board a research ship, but Mike is called away. The sharks that lived in the water near where the vessel crashed, start attacking humans and boats that come into the water. Mike becomes determined to get back on the ship and save his wife, before she too becomes shark food.

Trivia:

The seventh film in a row from Nu Image Films that combined acting with stock footage of shark attacks.

Thoughts:

I really don’t know what to say about this movie. It was so bad that it kind of circled back around and became good again. Does that even make sense? The boyfriend wandered into the room, while I was watching it and made a comment about my taste in movies. Then he proceeded to sit down and watch the rest of the movie without moving. It cracked me up. It’s one of those movies that kind of sucks you in and you aren’t sure why. To top it off, it was the kind of movie that you don’t feel guilty about laughing at because it kind of seems like actors get the joke too.

Monkey Shines

You’ll never look at monkeys the same again…

PLOT

Alan loved running and almost any sport, until he was hit by a truck and paralyzed from the waist down. His girlfriend leaves him for his doctor (played by Stanley Tucci in an early role), his mother (Joyce Van Patten) won’t leave him alone and he hates his life. After he attempts suicide, his best friend Jeff decides to help him by getting him a trained monkey. The trainer Melanie doesn’t have any available so Jeff donates one from the lab where he’s experimenting on the animals. Ella becomes Alan’s best friend, but as her drugs take effect, she grows jealous. She eventually starts to kill off everyone close to him, so she can keep him for herself.

TRIVIA

Based on the book Monkey Shines and directed by horror movie icon George Romero.

THOUGHTS

I really love Monkey Shines. My brother let me watch it when I was a kid and I fully blame him for making me fear those stupid monkey toys for years to come. It hasn’t kept up that well in terms of technology, especially when it comes to the wheelchair he uses, but it’s damn good. I fear that this will end up being remade and star a CGI monkey instead of the real thing. It’s also a little sad at times and it’s funny because you end up feeling bad for the monkey sometimes.