Review: I really didn't have high expectations for this film because it seemed like one of those typical, cheap straight to DVD movies but it actually wasn't that bad. The director spent some time giving the individual characters a background, so it didn't seem like a bunch of people in the woods running away from a massive bear. Anyway, the films about a guy called Rowan (James Marsden) who returns to his town to look for his friend who is missing in the woods. On his first night there, he picks up a girl in a bar and he takes her back to his hotel but the girl turns out to be a prostitute so he turfs her out and she ends up getting in trouble with her pimp. After saving her from a beating, he ends up in a fight on the street with the pimp so the police are called out to stop the brawl. His brother Beckett (Thomas Jane) happens to be the town sheriff so he picks him up at the incident and he questions him to find out why he has come back after such a long time. After spending the night with his brother, dead bodies turn up in the woods so Beckett goes to investigate while Rowan starts his journey to find his missing friend. As Becketts wife is in the woods taking pictures, he decides to go and find her because it's been reported that there is a killer bear on the loose. Rowan ends up saving Becketts wife from the killer bear and they all end up trapped in the wilderness. The only path home is through the Grizzly Maze but they have to tackle the angry beast to get back to safe ground. There is some intensity through the movie which I found quite enjoyable. The acting was pretty good from the whole cast, which made there situation feel believable, especially as the director chose to use a real bear. There are other elements that kept the movie interesting, like the poachers who were killing bears for money and Billy Bob Thorntons character who was a top class hunter, so there is some depth to the storyline. The action scenes at the end were also well put together and very intense so I don't know why this movie didn't make it to the cinema. There are some decent actors in the film like Billy Bob Thornton, Thomas Jane and James Marsden who seems to be in loads of movies nowadays, so I'm surprised that it went straight to DVD. Anyway, I quite enjoyed the movie and the fact that the director chose to use a real bear made it a joy to watch. Watchable!
Round-Up: James Marsden, 42, seems to be covering every genre in his career by starring in movies like the X-Men as Cyclops, Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, 27 Dresses, The Box with Cameron Diaz, The Butler, 2 Guns with Denzel Washington, Anchorman 2 and Unfinished Business so he really has covered every spectrum of acting. He very rarely takes the lead in movies, but he definitely makes his presence known with his unique acting style and dashing smile, which is mentioned in Anchorman 2. Thomas Jane, 46, who plays his brother in this film, has struggled to make it as an A list actor but he has starred in some decent movies like Face Off, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Scott Pilgrim and Hustlers with the late Paul Walker but he's never played the lead in any of those movie. The one big disappointment of his career has to be the awful Punisher reboot which really didn't do his career any good. That was mainly due to the director who really failed to reboot the franchise but he hasn't been able to star in a big screen movie ever since. This movie was directed by David Hackl who also directed Saw V. He hasn't got that much experience behind the camera but I think that he done a decent job with this movie. He had some professional actors to work with, which included a bear and the storyline was well written so he must be happy with his achievements, especially as it's his only his second film.
Budget: $10million Worldwide Gross: N/A
I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/horror/thrillers about a group of people in the wilderness trying to escape from a killer bear. 5/10
Round-Up: James Marsden, 42, seems to be covering every genre in his career by starring in movies like the X-Men as Cyclops, Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, 27 Dresses, The Box with Cameron Diaz, The Butler, 2 Guns with Denzel Washington, Anchorman 2 and Unfinished Business so he really has covered every spectrum of acting. He very rarely takes the lead in movies, but he definitely makes his presence known with his unique acting style and dashing smile, which is mentioned in Anchorman 2. Thomas Jane, 46, who plays his brother in this film, has struggled to make it as an A list actor but he has starred in some decent movies like Face Off, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Scott Pilgrim and Hustlers with the late Paul Walker but he's never played the lead in any of those movie. The one big disappointment of his career has to be the awful Punisher reboot which really didn't do his career any good. That was mainly due to the director who really failed to reboot the franchise but he hasn't been able to star in a big screen movie ever since. This movie was directed by David Hackl who also directed Saw V. He hasn't got that much experience behind the camera but I think that he done a decent job with this movie. He had some professional actors to work with, which included a bear and the storyline was well written so he must be happy with his achievements, especially as it's his only his second film.
Budget: $10million Worldwide Gross: N/A
I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/horror/thrillers about a group of people in the wilderness trying to escape from a killer bear. 5/10