Best Bear Horror Movies

While the horror genre is filled with serial killers, masked murderers, supernatural creatures, and other such terrifying things, the creature feature subgenre pits humanity against a real threat that people still face.

One of those predators is the mighty bear, with the grizzly bear being the most commonly used in the films. 

Large and brutal, the bears in these horror movies showcase why humans are not at the top of the food chain when they leave the safety of civilization.

So, without further ado, let’s get started on the best bear horror films and watch as nature fights against the ever-growing arm of humanity.

Cocaine Bear (2023)

First up on the list is Cocaine Bear, a 2023 film directed by Christopher Miller and based on the true story of an American black bear who got into about twenty pounds of cocaine that a drug dealer had accidentally lost.

It survived for around thirty minutes before dying, but during those thirty minutes, it had become one of the deadliest predators on the planet. 

The horror film based on this story brings all the best parts of the story to the silver screen while changing it enough to make for an entertaining story.

It is a campy horror comedy produced by a real studio with a sizable budget of about $35 million. It showcases mother bears’ lengths to protect their cubs, especially after consuming a staggering amount of cocaine. 

So, while the film’s premise sounds stupid, it is still a great movie to watch with your friends when looking for something stupid and hilarious.

Now go watch Cocaine Bear, which combines missing cocaine, amazing and gory kills, and a genuinely great story. You won’t regret it!

Grizzly (1976)

Next, we have one of the best killer bear horror movies the 70s had to offer. 70s horror is well-known for its practical effects in films like Hellraiser and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Grizzly was no different.

Featuring a massive, 18-foot-tall grizzly bear, an unfortunate group of campers going on a camping trip who find themselves being hunted, and many brutal kills, Grizzly is not for anyone with a weak stomach.

Capitalizing on the success of the hit shark movie, Jaws, Grizzly hoped to do for bears what Jaws had done for sharks, but it never quite hit that level of notoriety.

However, it still did fairly well, being the highest-grossing film in 1976 and racking in around $38 million at the box office on a measly $750,000 budget. 

Even though the critics on Rotten Tomatoes hated the film, calling it out for the rip-off that it was, the general public still enjoyed it for the most part.

If you are looking for a brutal bear movie, look no further than Grizzly.

However, stay away from the second movie, Grizzly II: Revenge with George Clooney, as it is an absolute travesty.

Yellow Fangs (1990)

Yellow Fangs is another bear horror movie based on real life and the true story of a bear who terrorized the inhabitants of a Hokkaido settlement.

It managed to kill seven people and injure several others before finally being hunted down by the settlement’s inhabitants. 

The movie wanted to recreate the sheer horror people would have faced during that time period as they found themselves being killed off by a vicious bear.

It is beautifully done, with the special effects being done by Battle Royale special effects artist Kinji Fukasaka. 

Special effects can only take you so far, but luckily, this film had two great actors, with the female lead earning a Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor for her performance in the film.

If you are going to watch any of these bear horror movies, then you should go with Yellow Fangs. 

Grizzly Park (2008)

Our next film’s title is Grizzly Park, which takes teen slasher with its tropes of young couples, mindless violence, and less-than-intelligent characters and combines it with an unrelenting grizzly bear with a taste for human blood.

Our group of intrepid teens in the film perform community service in a national park, but as night falls, things go wrong.

Speaking of teens, you might like this article about the best horror movies for 13-year-olds.

First, they are attacked by wolves, which manage to get one or two of the characters, and before anyone can catch their breath, a deadly bear is on the hunt for them.

But that isn’t all wrong with the little group, as the creators decided natural horror wasn’t enough for this film. 

Instead, a human serial killer is also introduced into the mix, and you are left wondering if nature is really all that bad.

It’s a mindless slasher with a ton of graphic violence, but it is still a great movie to watch. 

Backcountry (2015)

Backcountry is a more modern bear movie released in 2015 and comes out of the backcountry of Canada, where bears are large, vicious, and hungry.

There are two main characters in this movie: a pair of city-slickers who have ventured into the unforgiving wilderness where a territorial black bear lives.

The bear does not take kindly to strangers wandering around its territory and will teach them that you must always respect nature because nature is not your friend.

As the movie progresses, it is hard not to be frustrated with the couple as they have never been in the woods for any prolonged time. 

This movie will leave your heart racing as you watch each bear attack scene, desperately hoping the couple will make it out.

It is well-put-together and one of the best films on this list if you are looking for a creature feature that is both scary and not overly graphic.

Unnatural (2015)

Unnatural is well-deserving of its name. Not only does it use a polar bear, but it uses a bear that has been tampered with and changed by the power of science, creating a horror that seemingly can not be stopped by any mortal.

It also uses suitmation instead of relying on CGI, which gives the whole movie more of a gritty feeling. 

After this killer animal escapes from the lab it was being kept in, it goes on a murderous rampage and eats anyone it can find, and this goes on for the rest of the movie.

The main victims are a group of models and their photographers, but by the end, there will be a massive pile of bodies behind this vicious creature. 

It’s honestly a fairly underrated movie, and when you’re looking for a creature feature, it should definitely be one that you consider.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

The final movie on this list is another modern horror film, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

Winnie the Pooh is a cult classic when it comes to childhood shows and movies, and it has played a huge role in many people’s younger years.

Well, throw everything you know about the lovely characters out the Window for this absolute blood bath. 

After Christopher Robin leaves behind the friends he once knew, the hybrids (in this movie, half animal and half human) turn feral and consume human flesh.

The whole movie is extremely uncanny, especially if you are someone who used to love Winnie the Pooh as a child. 

Seeing what used to be loving and cute animals turned into horrid hybrids, with blood dripping from the weapons they wield, it’s almost like a childhood nightmare come to life.

While it is a cheesy film far from being the greatest scary movie out there, it is still worth a watch. 

Conclusion

So which of these movies do you think is the best bear horror movie? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this article, check out the best mermaid horror movies, and until next time, stay scared horror fans!