I never thought I would be in a situation where I would utter the words “cocaine bear” and “true story” in the same sentence, but here we go. Based on true events, the film “Cocaine Bear” takes us back in time to 1985 to relive a greatly exaggerated tale of the time a bear found a drug smuggler’s abandoned haul. The idea made popular by an internet joke, that a cocaine-fuelled bear would become the most deadly predator on Earth seemed destined to be memorialised through film.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks, this comedy/horror title brings a signature style of humour that revolves around characters clashing in disastrous ways. With a variety of characters filled with a collection of lively actors, a film that could have easily been minimum effort maintained a light-hearted nature while offering plenty of heart to latch onto.

The late Ray Liotta portrays Syd, a disgruntled mob boss type role, who drags his reluctant son, Eddie, played by Alden Ehrenreich, back into the family business to help find the lost haul of cocaine. Accompanied by his distant friend Daveed, performed by O’Shea Jackson Jr, the two must succeed at all costs, or face the fury of buyers who never got their goods.

The self-realised humour wasn’t lost early on as Syd was an imposing figure, but he was also playing babysitter to his grandson, who frequently interrupted his dominant nature. Eddie was a sobbing mess over his late wife, while Daveed had the drive of a main character that had to drag his friend along for the ride. The local children in the area, Dee Dee (Brooklyn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convrey) were the next pieces to the puzzle as they definitely skipped school to wander the woods, and this brought in Sari (Kerri Russell) to chase down her wayward daughter. At first, it seemed to be the run-of-the-mill roles to fill, but the adult-based dialogue from the children was all the more hilarious in a shock-value nature.

The fun didn’t stop there though, as Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) was arguably the most memorable character; a grizzled veteran who had a fleeting soft spot for fellow wildlife activist, Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and unbeknownst to her, was about to host the wildest 24 hours that Chattahoochee National Forest had ever seen. The setup was arguably simple, but having so many different avenues to funnel the victims to the home of a bear loaded with cocaine and hungry for more gave the viewer plenty to look forward to.

The star of the show, the bear, was rightfully completely animated with fluctuating levels of detail. While still impressive work to get it to fit into any given scene, the over-the-top mannerisms while consuming cocaine through eating bags, throwing it up in the air and twirling in the clouds of powder, or outright snorting it was a disarming way to laugh at the idea itself.

Where the film really took an unexpected turn was the attention to detail in the classic monster trope of classic horror films. When the goofiness wore off, the ginormous claws and snarling set of teeth came out and the hyped-up predator became an unstoppable force of nature that wasn’t afraid to rip apart anyone who kept it from its next hit.

Smart and deliberate camera work obscured blind corners while the bear stalked its prey, and subsequently, was also used to highlight a horror scene in the background while unsuspecting victims were blissfully unaware. An entire sequence through the rangers office was combined with laugh-out-loud moments, jump scares, and genuine terror for a cocktail of fun that spilled out into the woods and beyond. The practical and visual effects were fairly evenly distributed and the gore was unexpectedly full frontal at times. I would argue the film was at its best in these instances as it helped show the contrast between the outlandish humour and the actual results of a bear attack in the same scene, all before it threw a quip in for good measure, just to remind you that it is a comedy at its core.

Cocaine Bear sets out and achieves exactly what it wanted to do, bringing a wild set of circumstances to the film in a whole new light. While being feasibly predictable and purposefully over the top, the entertainment value remains high as a bear on cocaine.

Written by: Shane Fletcher