Scream queen Mia Goth (X, Pearl, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein), Dan Stevens (The Guest, Cuckoo) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover trilogy) are set to star in Hey Bear, a ‘coming-of-rage' thriller from Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel.
Written by Carrie Kemper, the Emmy-winning writer of Beef, Krisel's feature debut is being described as an offbeat comedy about a woman who seeks revenge on the bear that ate her husband, per Variety. A fuller synopsis reads:
“Goth stars as Claire, who has always led a life solely based on other people’s expectations. Married to Gregory (Stevens), she accommodates his desire to spend his life studying bears in Glacier National Park, even though it means months away from him at a time. During one of her visits, a grizzly bear, nicknamed Mr. Cranky by Gregory, mauls him to death. After being told by the park rangers that Mr. Cranky was euthanised, Claire finds out that the bear has merely been transported to another national park and is living his best life. The usually meek Claire makes up her mind to exact revenge on the bear.
She teams up with socially awkward park ranger Putt (Galifianakis) to assassinate Mr. Cranky, but Putt has his own murky motivations for joining her. With death and truth lurking around every tree, Claire’s desperate, grief-fueled mission takes her on an ultimately uplifting journey of empowerment and self-discovery. Set in breath-taking natural scenery, this “coming of rage” story is a darkly comedic rollercoaster ride full of originality and surprise,”
Gabrielle Stewart, CEO of HanWay Films, who are handling international sales on Hey Bear, has the following to say about the pic:
“There is nothing more thrilling than coming across a project that breaks barriers in terms of originality. As absurd and crazy as the premise of this story is, you always fully connect and empathise with Claire’s journey as she figures out how out of grief, to take ownership of her life again […] Mia Goth, Dan Stevens and Zach Galifianakis are the dream team to make us laugh, feel, and gasp with shock and horror,”
Hey Bear joins Primate, the upcoming Anaconda reboot starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, Netflix's Cujo remake, Morihito Inoue’s horror-comedy Hot Spring Shark Attack, not to mention this year's Dangerous Animals, Good Boy and the Justin Long-starring Coyotes as part of a new pack of animal-focussed horror, and frankly we're very excited to see Ms Goth unleash that iconic scream upon a poor unsuspecting grizzly. Look out for more on Hey Bear as we get it.
