Among the best movie trailers of 2022, there was one in particular that got the internet more energised than a line of pure white snow – the carnage-fulled first look at Cocaine Bear. As its title suggests, Elizabeth Banks’ based-on-a-true-story comedy-thriller (produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) is set to be the ultimate ursine drug-drama – about a black bear that finds a fallen shipment of cocaine in the forests of Georgia, consumes it, and goes on a coke-fuelled rampage. If the wild first teaser was hoovered up with glee by audiences, the director promises that’s only the beginning.
“It’s pretty insane,” Banks tells Empire in the new issue, teasing inspirations from other directors known for bringing blood-soaked, comedy-flecked chaos to the screen – from the Coen Brothers and Sam Raimi, to Quentin Tarantino. “It lulls you into this time and place in the ‘80s, in the mountains of Georgia. Then once the party starts, it’s a real humdinger.”
For all that the film leans into its bear-and-blow B-movie premise, Banks does tease that there is more going on under the surface. Because while the bear itself is the one on the rampage, it’s really a symptom of the wider war on drugs – and the “ultimate baddie” of the piece is a drug kingpin played by the late, great Ray Liotta. “In the mid ‘80s, there was this big reaction to the crack epidemic in American society that actually created so many other monsters,” Banks explains. “There’s a bit of allegory in here, as well as true chaos.” See you in the foyer with a big bag of popcorn, and an extra-large Coke (the drinkable kind).
Read Empire’s full Cocaine Bear story in the February 2023 issue, on sale Thursday 22 December and available to pre-order online here. Cocaine Bear comes to UK cinemas from 24 February.