Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood.

For in-depth thoughts on Cocaine Bear, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Cocaine Bear arrives on Blu-Ray courtesy of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment with a terrific AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The level of detail in this presentation is bound to impress, especially when it comes to the textures found all throughout the forest. All of the minute aspects of the costumes and production design are crisp and well defined in all lighting conditions. The natural color palette is presented with a wondrous vibrancy that enhances the cinematography of the subtly ‘80s aesthetic. Black levels are deep with some strong detail in shadows. The highlights do not showcase any blooming in this presentation. Skin tones are natural across the entire cast even when blood starts coating it as attacks increase. There are no egregious instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable here, but a small amount of digital noise does peek through. Universal has delivered a top tier transfer for this Blu-Ray, even if an option for a 4K UHD Blu-Ray would have been a win.

Audio Quality

The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is powerful and never fails to bring the crazy action to vivid life. The soundscape on display here rarely lets up with a formidable design from beginning to end. This film starts out on a noisy airplane with a rip-roaring soundtrack in the background, and things rarely let up from there. There are sporadic character moments sprinkled throughout, but the film stays pretty active. The soundtrack is a nostalgic delight, and it comes through with great fidelity.

Dialogue comes through clearly with none of the information getting buried by the sound designs. All of the effects have a distinct sense of direction within the mix with noises really springing to life. The movie uses environmental sounds to impressive effect, and the track retains firm detail even in the increasingly chaotic developments. The track gives the film the weight and complexity it deserves. There are optional English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director/Producer Elizabeth Banks and Producer Max Handelman have a blast delivering an entertaining and informative commentary track in which they discuss how they came to cast various members of the ensemble, what they wanted to accomplish tonally, how they chose to adhere to the truth of the story and diverge when necessary, the loss of Ray Liotta, the lighting choices and more. This is a really fun listen for fans.

Alternate Ending: A nearly minute-long alternate ending in which a certain character makes a return appearance with a thirst for vengeance.

Gag Reel: Two minutes of goofing around, forgotten lines, laughing fits and more are provided here.

Deleted & Extended Scenes: Nearly five minutes of unused material is provided here featuring Sari doing some dirty work for the paramedics, Ranger Liz doing some more flirting and more amusing moments.

All Roads Lead To Cokey – The Making Of Cocaine Bear: A nine-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss their excitement for the project, the real-life events, the direction of Elizabeth Banks, the tone of the movie, bringing the bear to life and more.

Unbearable Bloodbath – Dissecting The Kills: An eight-minute look at the carnage caused by the titular bear including the gory special effects, the stunt work and more that creates the thrills on screen.

Doing Lines: A four-minute piece in which various members from the cast read excerpts from the script.

Final Thoughts

Cocaine Bear delivers on the promise of its premise with a spry, insanely fun journey from beginning to end. Those who were inundated by the marketing had many of the best moments spoiled, but the film itself does go pretty full throttle with carnage and comedy that mostly connects. The tone does not ground this one firmly in reality, and the movie is all the more fun because of it. The ensemble seems to be having fun portraying these ridiculous, distinct characters, and they all work well with one another. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a really great A/V presentation and some fun special features. If you simply want to see a bear do cocaine and kill a bunch of people in a horrific manner, you should get what you want out of this. Recommended

Cocaine Bear will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 18, 2023. The film is currently available on Digital platforms.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.