‘Cocaine Bear’ satisfies viewers looking for rudimentary entertainment

Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers.

We firmly clutched the arm rests of our theater seats, leaning forward in anticipation as a cocaine-addicted bear tore up a flamboyant nature conservationist, all while hanging mid-air in the upper branches of a tree. The tension released and we proclaimed our disgust as the camera panned down, the body of the nature conservationist crashing to the ground with a thud. His severed leg, tissues spilling out, fell to the floor not four seconds later. We wondered what the hell had happened to the bear.

“Cocaine Bear,” the new incredibly gory horror comedy film released on Feb. 24, both shocks audiences with its absurdity and amuses them with blunt slapstick horror. The film, budgeted at $30 million, lined up $21.3 million during its opening weekend. 

“Cocaine Bear” was marketed as horror, but is minimally scary — if anything, what it lacks in horror it makes up for in cocaine (as the name suggests). It brings to the Hollywood scene a fresh, though slightly uncomforting example of combining wild (and slightly crude) ideas with bold execution.

The story takes place in a Georgia national park after a failed drug drop led to around $14 million worth of cocaine being scattered through the forest by a cocaine-addicted black bear. Addicted may not even be the right word — cocaine-obsessed, or even cocaine-crazy is more accurate. This cocaine-craze causes said bear to go on rampages, tearing up everyone standing in the way between herself and her newfound cocaine — namely, those in a mismatched group of teenagers, drug dealers, children, hikers and cops. The film is inspired by the death of a black bear that died in 1985 after overdosing on a duffel bag of cocaine it had found after a failed cocaine drop.

At times it seemed as though director Elizabeth Banks attempted to metaphorically slap viewers in the face with over-the-top, gruesome scenes. About half way through the movie, the bear, intoxicated on an obscene amount of cocaine, chases an ambulance at top speed, attempting to maul the people in the vehicle. 

The bear pulls a Lance Armstrong, using performance-enhancing drugs to catch up and jump through the large double doors on the back of the ambulance. As the bear shoves the injured park ranger strapped to a stretcher out of the car, her face slides across the pavement, creating a disgusting visual — one that still vividly lives in our minds. 

Despite being extremely gruesome, the movie is extremely well made. In addition, “Cocaine Bear” offers a plethora of hilarious moments as well. The film keeps viewers bouncing between audibly recoiling and chuckling. Juxtaposing a park ranger trying to impress a flamboyant nature conservationist with new perfume next to drug dealers attempting to fend off a grizzly bear on coke is a recipe for quality entertainment.

We would recommend this film mainly for those looking for flimsy entertainment and nothing deeper. It’s not for serious movie-watchers who crave more nuance and intricacy to their films of choice, and would we watch it again and put ourselves through the pleasure of seeing a man’s intestines being stretched out and gnawed on by little bear cubs. Nevertheless, the film is bound to keep audiences entertained with its humor and utter absurdity.