MovieChat Forums > Grizzly (1976) Discussion > Horse's head

Horse's head

posted 10 years ago by PaperShredder
8 replies | jump to latest

I've seen a whole lot of absurdity on the screen in my times but the part when the grizzly detaches the whole head of a horse with just one single whip of its claw is one of the silliest movie moments I've seen in a long, long time. It only lasted a second or two but even a few days later I'm still mesmerized by the sheer stupidity of that scene.

It's so hard to believe the mid 1970's audience took this film dead seriously and without even a giggle (though I wouldn't know, since I wasn't around then but I think it's a pretty safe as a wild guess). Perhaps someone could shed some light on this? Nowadays you would probably see something that ridiculous only in a really exaggerated, screwball horror comedy.

[–] blakeman422 10 years ago

Actually even in the 70s many of us knew the horse decapitation was bullshucks as well as much of the other stuff that happened. Overall the movie was and still an enjoyable B-movie and nothing more.

[–] PaperShredder 10 years ago

In that case, my apologies to anyone who went to see this in the 1970's.

I don't know if I was actually seriously waiting the "yes, we were simple folks back then" answer, but it's nice to know the ability to dissociate fact from fiction was already part of everyday life.

[–] mobstar1967 10 years ago

I was 11 years old when I conned my mother into believing this was a bear movie similar to DISNEYS "The Wilderness Family"...
It didn't take long for her to see I was not completely on the level as to the plot of this film, yes there was a bear in it but after the first girls head came rolling off her torso I was promptly pulled by the ear out of the theater ... Nice try !!!!
I did however sneak back in with my friends a few days later and was terrified..
Honestly to an 11 year old boy I was willing to believe a 18 foot best could whack a horses head clean off with its giant claws..so yes it was believable !!!
But I was 11... For those who caught this film in 76 as kids or young teens it was terrifying ...
I still love this film with all it's faults...

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Agreed, same here. Stuck with me forever. I bet you and I could talk for hours

[–] Tru-Review 9 years ago

The horse used in the movie actually belonged to a friend of my family and while the film was being made she kept trying to get them to make the scene appear more realistic than it did! We were just discussing it today and she told me her horse was used in the movie! She did say she had fun being around the cast and crew and has many pictures of everything! ??

[–] Lava-Rocks 8 years ago

This movie was a joke and the horse's head was the punch line.
It was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
We laughed out loud all through it.

[–] strangenstein (683) 4 years ago

Two thoughts for you:

1) I saw this in ‘76 at the age of 11 and it really scared me. My oldest brother took me (he was 22) and he thought it was pretty good, although not quite as scary as I did.

2) Grizzly came out a year after JAWS, and the general public was still traumatized by the thought of man-eating animals. Within another year or two there would be many JAWS rip-offs, but Grizzly came along early in the game so it had some power.

Hope these help answer your questions.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20440) 4 years ago

Dude, I would loved to have seen this in the theater! Christopher George always kicks ass. 👍