Project Grizzly [1996]

Sarah brought us this delightful film, the rare bad documentary. The premise itself really sells the film: a man obsessed with bears is trying to make a bear proof suit. It looks like something from a 1950s horror movie on a shoestring budget and the beginning of the film is mostly testing its durability in increasingly silly ways. The man himself, Troy Hubertise, is obviously unhinged and will often go on long rants about who knows what. He calls the bear he originally encountered Old Man and talks a lot about how bears are just like people, you know, with claws. 

The direction of the film is also pretty great in its over-the-top coolness. You kind of wonder if the director actually thinks he's making Troy look good or if he's just doing what Troy would find cool and the effect is almost sarcastic.

The first downside of the film however is the run time, which is only an hour and 15 minutes, but feels longer. How long can you really talk about a bear suit? How long can you endure this man's fantastical rants that are a bit too incoherent to be fun? The other, larger disadvantage is that he is never actually attacked by a bear while in the suit. It feels like false advertising.

 Overall, it's pretty worth it, especially the first 20 minutes or so.

Spoon Rating: 5