Bear 2010 and Horror Genre

On a quest to fulfill the assignment to screen a film outside of class that falls into the horror genre, Netflix was found to have a hidden gem called “Bear.” The 2010 horror film focused on four dysfunctional characters, two brothers and their significant others, who, taking a short-cut on their way to celebrate the brothers’ parents’ anniversary, end up with a flat tire in the woods. With no spare and no cell phone reception, night falls with them stuck. Just when they decide to take a walk to find “civilization,” a Grizzly bear comes out of the woods. Although (presuming it was a she) she does not attack, the older idiot brother shoots the bear several times out of fear.  Only to provoke the mate (given the younger female declares, “This one’s got balls!”) to avenge her death. Leaving only one character alive in the end (because she bows before the bear in submission, he leaves her alone).

Certainly the majority of elements that make up a horror were evident throughout the film. There was the rising tension between man and beast as the bear attacked and killed the twits one by one. The younger brother developed feelings of guilt over the older brother needlessly killing the first bear and they were all experiencing a threatening situation, facing death in a dark, isolated area with a very menacing mood.

However, in this case, the creature, though dangerous, could be viewed by the viewer as the “hero.” During the scene where the bear mourns the death of his love, immediately the heart of the viewer is captured so that the viewer essentially feels nothing for the humans and applauds the bear for each “lesson taught” to the humans. The “unknown invading the familiar” could be regarded as the humans invading the bears’ territory. Thus, turning the theme then from human fear of nature to nature’s fear of man’s ignorance.