Elizabeth Banks promises that her upcoming horror comedy Cocaine Bear will live up to its name.
Based (somewhat loosely) on a true story, Cocaine Bear follows "an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists, and teens" pursued by a black bear on a cocaine-fueled rampage through the Georgia wilderness. Speaking with Total Film Magazine ahead of the film's February release, Banks says that the "super-entertaining" black comedy won't disappoint.
"Cocaine Bear is super-entertaining. If you want to let go of everything in your life for 95 minutes, this is a great way to do that. It's an incredible adventure. There are some really beautiful messages in it. It's been fun to see people relate to the movie. It's terrifying [when a film is finished and out of your hands]. That's my horror movie right there. There's only so much that I can control."
But at the end of the day, the multi-talented Banks says that she's proud of the finished product.
"All that being said, I'm really proud of [it]. I can sleep well at night knowing that I did my job well, and that if audiences want to see a movie called Cocaine Bear, I have delivered a film that lives up to the title."
Cocaine Bear Will Be a Revenge Story
Part of what makes Cocaine Bear so exciting, Banks says, is that it's a "redemption story" for the bear in the real-life incident—who overdosed on a duffel bag of cocaine and died before it ever had a chance to rampage. Echoing her earlier statements about the bear being a victim in the 1980s American "War on Drugs," the actress-turned-director added that she got the idea for the re-imagining while doing research on the "unique" script.
"[Jimmy Warden's script] was so unique, and I thought it really offered an opportunity to play on a genre that I hadn't really considered before, and do something out of the box. My first reaction was 'I gotta read the real story and understand how much of this is true.'"
She added:
"Then I did a deep dive. I thought this bear was collateral damage [in] a broken war on drugs. I had a lot of empathy for it. I felt like this film could be the bear's revenge story."
Cocaine Bear massacres its way into theaters Feb. 24; check out the official trailer below: