Jaws was released on June 20th, 1975. Less than a year later, on May 12, 1976, Grizzly, a wild ripoff, hit theaters. According to the internet, so it must be true, producers/screenwriters Harvey Flaxman and David Sheldon made no secret about the film’s origins. They were very much looking to cash in on the success of Jaws. By October of 1975 director William Girdler was filming, and by the end of the next year, Grizzly became the highest grossing independent film up to that time.
I was surprised to learn Grizzly is an independent flick, because it has the look and feel of mid-budget studio schlock, or even a TV movie from the era. I couldn’t help feeling this was exactly the kind of movie Jaws would have been had it not been in Spielberg’s hands. Even the main cast is perfect for studied mediocrity. Continue reading “October Horrorshow: Grizzly”
Who doesn’t like a shitty Jaws ripoff? Honestly, plenty of people. But enough do like it that giant animal flicks have become a robust subgenre of b-horror the last couple of decades, thanks to the work of outfits such as The Asylum, and the availability of affordable CGI. Jaws ripoffs aren’t the sole province of the 21st century, though. The Italians, whose cinema has always had a mere passing relationship with copyright law, produced plenty of their own…homages…to Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster.
What a disappointing movie. With a title like Venomous and a poster featuring a giant snake’s head on the attack, I was expecting this direct-to-video cheapie to be a ripoff of Anaconda. Instead, it’s a ripoff of Outbreak. All the epidemiological plot points are there, and every character has an analogue. But, Treat Williams is no Dustin Hoffman, Mary Page Keller is no Rene Russo, Hannes Jaenicke is no Kevin Spacey (are we allowed to like his acting again, yet?), and Geoff Pierson is no frickin’ Morgan Freeman.