Imagine: you’ve been tasked with writing a new horror/comedy movie. But what can you do to make it unique? Being inspired by true events can help, but lots of movies claim that these days. You could make the threat an animal, after all, “Jaws” was popular. But an animal going around killing people for no reason is also an old trope that goes back ages. You need something to make it stand out from movies of yore. *Snaps fingers.* You get it high.
Cocaine Bear was a wild ride from beginning to end. (Very) loosely inspired by true events, the film begins with real life drug smuggler Andrew Thornton II dying after failing to properly jump out of a plane over the American South while dumping millions of dollars worth of cocaine into Chattahoochee National Park before cutting to actual news footage from 1985 when the body was found, as well as a selection of anti drug PSAs. After the bailout of the plane, a black bear finds the drugs and eats multiple bricks of cocaine. This is where the similarities between history and fiction end. In real life, the bear died without harming a single soul. In the film, the bear is a mass murdering machine. The film uses the brutality of the drug-fueled bear to strike a perfect balance between horror and hilarity as the beast can effortlessly eat a hitchhiker alive in one scene, and go off chasing butterflies in the next.
Aside from featuring Cokey the bear (the real life nickname of the now stuffed bear), the film features a collection of memorable characters with different motivations for going to Chattahoochee. While there are multiple characters, arguably the film has six “main” characters that receive more focus. School aged best friends, Dee Dee and Henry, go off to the forest to paint the falls. Dee Dee’s mother, Sari, is a single mom who chases after the pair on account of them skipping school and preventing the pair from going on a trip with her new boyfriend. A local detective named Bob journeys to the forest in search of the missing coke, hoping to use it
as evidence to nail a local dealer while also trying to find a new home for his dog. In addition to the law abiding citizens are Daveed and Eddie. Eddie is the recently widowed son of the head of the local smuggling ring, and wants to leave the family “business,” while Daveed is Eddie’s best friend but also a loyal enforcer for Eddie’s father. Daveed and Eddie are by far the most
entertaining characters in the film due to their contrasting personalities. Eddie is often dour and depressed, but also the kindest of the two and willing to have civil conversations with other characters, even if they’re directly opposing his goals, while Daveed firm and mission driven, causing him grief due to various mishaps ruining his favorite clothes throughout the film. Despite the strained relationship between the two men, they ultimately care deeply about one another.
Though the premise of the film sounds ridiculous, “Cocaine Bear” proved to be an absolute blast of a movie due to its entertaining comedy, compelling characters, nerve wracking suspense, and heart beat inducing action sequences. I gladly rank it 4 out of 5 bricks of cocaine.
