The National Parks are one of America’s greatest assets, with millions of acres of untouched landscape filled with geologic formations, lush forests, and wildlife. But with vast spaces of rugged outdoor beauty come natural dangers: grizzlies. Based on actual events, Grizzly Night is what happens when people stop fearing the creatures of the forest, marking one summer night with the stench of death.
On August 12th, 1967, in Montana’s Glacier National Park, the unthinkable happened: On the same night, nine miles apart, there were not one-but two-fatal grizzly bear attacks.
Grizzly Night, IMDB
Grizzly Night opens on its namesake; Julie Helgeson (played by Brec Bassinger) stares at her boyfriend, Roy, in wide-eyed terror, begging him to play dead as a grizzly bear rummages through their campsite and begins to sniff their sleeping bags. She can’t hold in her screams any longer and as the bear gets more aggressive, she panics and runs off into the woods. Backing up to hours before, Park Ranger Joan Devereaux (Lauren Call) is asked to lead a hike to a campground famous for bear sightings; meanwhile Julie and more of her friends discuss their plans for camping. One red flag after another leads to a night of terror when multiple bear attacks create chaos in a previously incident-free park. Grizzly Night is the perfect lesson for woodland safety and “leave no trace.”
Unlike more recent rabid and killer animal features, Grizzly Night is surprisingly realistic and favors emotional threats over cheap scares, an aspect I appreciate considering this is based on real deaths. Sure, there are moments of gore with the aftermath of bear attacks and incredibly high tension as camp goers are ambushed by local grizzlies, but the real horror is that this really happened. It is not often that I leave a film feeling on-edge, and even after seeing Grizzly Night from the comfort of my own home in broad winter daylight (i.e., hibernating time), I am still nervous about the thought of camping in bear country.
With fantastic acting from Bassinger, Call, Oded Fehr (playing Dr. John Lindberg), and many others, I could feel the immense suffering and sadness, as if they personally experienced their friends being mauled to death. Filmed just outside of Park City, Utah, Grizzly Night doesn’t skimp on visuals — from the bloody aftermath of the attacks to striking forest shots. It’s such an odd feeling to have, being both in awe of the Earth around us, and horrified by the thought of being eaten alive.
Grizzly Night is a no-nonsense thriller that tells a tragic story and explains why we have the rules we have today. Almost 60 years after the original incident, it is still a story worth hearing, one that tugs at your heartstrings while activating your internal fight-or-flight response. Not all horror needs to be modern or involve supernatural forces. Sometimes, as Grizzly Night shows, all you need is that primal fear response.
Grizzly Night will be available on digital (Amazon, AppleTV, Sky Store, YouTube Movies, EETV and Virgin Media Store) and DVD from February 2nd. Pre-order now on Amazon and Digital.
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