Even George Clooney Can’t Defend Grizzly II

George Clooney is well aware that one of his earliest forays into horror, the long-shelved Grizzly II: Revenge, finally surfaced recently and, yeah, it got clobbered. He seems fine laughing about it. Honestly, same.

Clooney on the long-buried bear sequel

While doing press for Jay Kelly, Clooney got asked about Grizzly II: Revenge — the 1983 sequel that didn’t actually see daylight until a couple of years ago. His read on the reception was... not exactly sugarcoated.

"And by the way, just for the record, it came out, what, two years ago? And, you know, we’re getting terrible f***ing reviews!"

For context: Grizzly II was supposed to be released more than 40 years ago. It finally stumbled out recently enough that, as Clooney joked, the reviews are fresh and not kind. Let’s just hope that little nostalgia dust-up doesn’t splash on any Best Actor talk for Jay Kelly. Fun crossover detail: Laura Dern, who co-stars with Clooney in Jay Kelly (she plays the title character’s publicist), also pops up in Grizzly II.

How we got here

Grizzly II has one of those messy behind-the-scenes stories that turns into a trivia night special. It sat for decades. When the team finally assembled a version they could release, producer Suzanne Csikos Nagy explained that they kept it as close to an authentic 80s relic as possible — the rough edges, the vibe, the whole found-and-finished energy — specifically to court cult-movie diehards. The pitch was basically: lean on the novelty of that era, the cast, and, yes, the very big bear, and maybe it resonates with today’s audience.

• Cast check: George Clooney, Laura Dern, Steve Inwood, Louise Fletcher, John Rhys-Davies, and (oh hi) Charlie Sheen.

One thing to know going in: Clooney and Dern were not top-billed back then. Any new packaging is absolutely going to slap their names on the box, but in the movie itself they’re further down the call sheet. That’s part of the charm — or the bait, depending on your tolerance for time-capsule curios.

Horror as a launchpad, again

Clooney’s not unique in starting in horror; the genre has been a stealth springboard for ages. Before he was America’s favorite silver fox, he did Return to Horror High and Return of the Killer Tomatoes — and then, of course, this ursine oddity. Grizzly II finally coming out just means more people can now, let’s say, appreciate it.

Bottom line: Clooney’s laughing with us about Grizzly II: Revenge, the producers embraced the 80s jank on purpose, and the cast list is a trip. If Jay Kelly lands him a Best Actor nod, that arc — from getting mauled by reviews to courting Oscar — will be a very Hollywood kind of poetry.