It's a giant bear that finds drugs and mauls people. Made-for-TV SyFy affair? Nope, a genuine b-movie, name actors and loads of gruesome deaths; and they are gory, believe you me. It's kind of a real kick with the more shocking ones (the ambulance scene screams to mind).

Too many characters walk in and out of this story, which is the one negative I can think of, on the whole; but it's oddly satisfying to watch them go. The real surprise here is, in such a whacked-out movie, there's actually a well-handled theme of a mother protecting her young. I can definitely appreciate this.

I had the benefit of a like-minded audience in the theater, and it's entirely possible that returns will diminish on future rewatches. But in the here-and-now, I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Side note: R. I. P., Ray Liotta.