David Sheldon Movies

Director Jeff Lieberman followed his horror-science fiction film Blue Sunshine with this effort, which rehashes many of the themes explored in Wes Craven's seminal horror work The Hills Have Eyes. The plot concerns a teenage land owner who heads for the mountains of Oregon with a deed to his new property and an RV full of young friends only to discover (to their extreme peril) that words on paper mean less than nothing up there... or, in the words of horticulture-loving park ranger George Kennedy, "Those mountains can't read, son." By nightfall, the youths learn the gravity of this warning, as they are set upon by a hulking Mongoloid in a knit cap and pilot's glasses who seems capable of being in two places at once. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

This ecology-themed horror movie took its inspiration from the success of Jaws and moved that film's man-versus-nature conflict from the seaside to the forest. The plot of Grizzly focuses on Mike Kelly (Christopher George), a forest ranger whose peaceful tenure over a forest housing a busy nature lodge is interrupted by the arrival of a very deadly and hungry 15-foot grizzly bear. As the bear starts killing rangers and campers, Park Supervisor Charley Kittridge (Joe Dorsey) tries to cover up the problem and tries to keep Kelly from acting in a way that will cause public suspicion. Finally, Kelly decides to do what is right and teams up with macho pilot Don Stober (Andrew Prine) and eccentric naturalist Arthur Scott (Richard Jaeckel) to hunt the grizzly down on its own turf. Grizzly was roundly panned by critics for its slavish, blow-by-blow imitation of its more sophisticated model, Jaws, but its gruesome shock power made it a major hit with audiences around the world. Director William Girdler followed this success up with another ecology-themed shocker in Day of the Animals, and the film's producers made a still-unreleased sequel, Grizzly II, which provided early roles for Charlie Sheen and George Clooney. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi

Tom Tayback takes over the role made famous by Dan Haggerty in The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams with this adventure story for the family. When three children are lost in the woods, mountaineer Grizzly Adams (Tayback) and his pet bear Samson head out to find them; along the way, they run afoul of a gang of evil prospectors, led by Professor Hunnicut (Joseph Campanella) and Mr. Pettibone (Joel Rook). Along the way, Adams shows of his knowledge of Native American lore and Samson does a few tricks. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi