Starring Ray Liotta, Kerri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, and more, Cocaine Bear follows the true story of a bear who consumed over 70 lbs of lost cocaine

If the movie’s title alone doesn’t capture your attention, then the preface “Based on a True Story” definitely should. Cocaine Bear starts out in the beautiful Blood Mountains of Chattahoochee national forest situated in Georgia. A pilot, who belongs to a national drug ring, has dropped millions of dollars worth of cocaine bags into the forest unknowing of who or what could get to them. This leads to a giant black bear of about 700 lbs to eat and consume as much cocaine as it can.

The movie follows the “what if” situation of the bear surviving the original consumption of cocaine. In real life, the bear was about 170 lbs and upon eating the cocaine, died almost immediately. What if the bear survived? What if there was more to it? The plot dives into these questions with a series of gruesome deaths, bear attacks, and more.

Featuring a group of colorful characters that includes two children, a mother, a drug ring, a teenage gang, and two park rangers who have fallen in love, the movie has many intricate plotlines that cross paths. This leads to complicated relationships, loss, trauma, and family secrets coming to light

Regardless of the comedic characters, this movie is not for the faint of heart. Visual and sound effects are used to their extent throughout the movie, including violent scenes and extreme gore. The worst of them all being a scene in the finale. 

Despite the gore, the movie’s message contains themes of friendship and family. Following the storyline of a mom and her daughter, their friendship and relationship with each other changes drastically throughout the course of the plot. It focuses on connections between people and actually has a few sweet moments between the violence.

The filmography varies. Sometimes, the film’s tone is comedic, but this quickly shifts to jumpscare horror. One scene can drastically change from a funny moment to a gory jumpscare. 

Overall, the movie has some comedic moments as viewers experience the characters’ growth. Most reviews of Cocaine Bear can agree: it is entertaining, amusing, and brutally violent.