Cocaine Bear (2023)

Film and Plot Synopsis

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. (Courtesy of Universal Pictures)

‘Cocaine Bear’ Movie Summary

In 1985, infamous drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II (Matthew Rhys) drops a large shipment of cocaine from his plane over the mountains. Thornton attempts to parachute himself out of the plane but knocks himself unconscious on the doorframe. Thornton falls to the ground near Knoxville, Tennessee and dies. A local detective, Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), identifies the body and theorizes that there are more duffle bags of cocaine out there waiting to be discovered. Bob believes that the cocaine was likely intended to be delivered to St. Louis drug kingpin Syd White (Ray Liotta).

At the same time, two hippie hikers, Elsa (Hannah Hoekstra) and Olaf (Kristofer Hivju), are exploring the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. They come across a large American black bear that is acting strangely. Unaware that the bear has ingested large amounts of cocaine from one of the discarded duffle bags, they attempt to take some photographs from a distance. The bear notices the couple and viciously attacks them, killing Elsa.

At the same time near northeast Georgia, Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) is a middle schooler who lives with her single, nurse mother, Sari (Keri Russell). Sari breaks a promise to Dee Dee to go on a hike in the forest, so Dee decides to ditch school so that she can paint a picture of the waterfalls in the forest. Dee Dee convinces her best friend, Henry (Christian Convery), to join her. While on the route to the falls, the two kids discover a package of cocaine. The two kids ingest some of the cocaine before being suddenly attacked by the bear, who smells the cocaine.

In St. Louis, Syd is aware to Thornton’s death and sends his employee Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) to retrieve the missing duffle bags. Syd orders Daveed to take Syd’s son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) with him, to the chagrin of Daveed. Eddie is grieving over the death of his wife and has abandoned his father’s business and his own son into Syd’s reluctant care. The two criminals arrive in Georgia just about the same time as Bob. At the forest station, three low level criminals – Stache (Aaron Holiday), Vest (J.B. Moore), and Ponytail (Leo Hanna) – attempt to rob Daveed in the restroom. Daveed easily overpowers the inept gang and discovers that they have a brick of Syd’s cocaine in their possession. Daveed and Eddie make Stache show them where the three found the cocaine.

Apex predator…high on cocaine…and you’re going towards it? Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.)

Sari is made aware that her daughter ditched school and theorizes that she went to the falls. She enlists the help of a wildlife activist named Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and a park ranger named Liz (Margo Martindale) to help direct her to the falls. Along the way, the trio finds Henry hiding high in a tree. The boy tells them that he is hiding from the cocaine bear that took Dee Dee off into the woods. Suddenly, the bear attacks again. Liz is injured, and Peter stumbles into a pile of cocaine before he climbs a tree for safety. The bear smells the cocaine on Peter and climbs the tree and kills Peter. Sari helps Henry down at the same time, and the two run off into the woods to find Dee Dee.

Liz survives the attack and heads back to the station to get help. The bear chases after her. Once at the station, she finds Ponytail and Vest there. The bear attacks the station and Liz accidentally shoots Ponytail in the head, while the bear reaches through a window and kills Vest. A short time later, paramedics Beth (Kahyun Kim) and Tom (Scott Seiss) arrive to provide assistance and find the carnage in the ranger station. They get Liz onto a gurney and attempt to get away from the pursuing bear. Charged by the cocaine, the bear catches the ambulance and kills Tom. Liz’s gurney is thrown from the moving vehicle, and she is killed. A distracted Beth drives into a tree and is thrown, dead, threw the windshield. Only the bear survives the crash.

In the woods, Sari and Henry discover that Dee Dee left them a trail of paint for them to follow. Bob discovers the duffle bag that Stache hid on the roof of a gazebo in the middle of the woods. While he is acquiring it, Daveed, Eddie, and Stache arrive. Bob and Daveed exchange gun fire, and Daveed has two of his fingers blown off. The bear arrives but it appears that it is coming down from a high as it collapses on top of Eddie. Daveed accidentally drops the brick of cocaine that he took off Stache, and the smell awakens the bear. The bear prepares to attack Eddie, Daveed, and Stache until it is distracted by Bob who uses some of the cocaine from the duffle bag to lure it away from the three crooks.

Bob is suddenly shot by Syd who reveals that he is under pressure from his superiors to retrieve the cocaine. Syd reveals that he is being assisted by a friend of Bob’s, Officer Reba (Ayoola Smart), who Bob left his treasured dog with. Syd threatens to kill the dog if Bob won’t turn over the cocaine, and Bob reveals that he gave the bag to the bear who took it into the woods. Bob dies, and Syd leads Eddie, Reba, and Daveed into the woods to retrieve the cocaine from the bear. Stache heads back to civilization.

As night approaches, Sari and Henry find a mourning Olaf sitting alone in the woods. The hippie directs them to the bear’s lair where he believes Dee Dee is being kept. Sari and Henry enter the cave and find not only Dee Dee, but two bear cubs who also appear to be high on cocaine. Outside the cave, Olaf is killed by the bear. Sari, Henry, and Dee Dee hear approaching voices and go deeper into the cave. Eventually, they find a second entrance near the waterfalls. Syd, Eddie, Reba, and Daveed find the bear cave. Reba turns to leave, and Syd threatens to shoot her until Daveed stops him. Syd, Eddie, and Daveed discover Sari, Henry, Dee Dee, and the bear cubs near the falls. Syd threatens everyone. The mother bear returns and smells the cocaine in the duffle bag that Syd is carrying. She also sees Syd mistreating her cubs.

Sari, Henry, and Dee Dee leap from the ledge into the water below to get away from the bear. Eddie and Daveed jump a moment later, although Daveed is hit by a gun shot from Syd’s weapon right before he jumps. Syd refuses to leave any drugs, and he shoots the bear. Unfortunately, the shot only wounds the bear who then proceeds to disembowel Syd. Syd watches as the bear cubs pull his intestines out of his stomach before he dies.

Sari, Henry, and Dee make it to shore a safe distance away. Sari helps Eddie treat a wounded Daveed who swears that he is quitting the drug business. All five survivors make it back to the parking lot near the ranger station and return to their lives. Reba appears and gives Eddie Bob’s dog.

In a mid-credits scene, Stache is seen hitchhiking to New York with one of the duffle bags full of cocaine. However, he is hesitant to leave the bag in the back of the pickup truck that contains a group of goats.

In a second mid-credits scene, Eddie reunites with his son and gives him Bob’s dog. When he and Daveed notice that the dog is eating something, Daveed realizes that his two severed fingers must have fallen out of his pocket during the car ride.