WFG RATING: B+

Indie Rights Movies presents a TiberiusFilm/H2 Crew Pictures production. Directed by Alex T. Hwang. Produced by Thomas Haley and Alex T. Hwang. Written by Anthony Werley and Kathleen W. Hwang. Cinematography by Alex Beck. Edited by Thomas Haley.

Stars Sarah French, Thomas Haley, Felissa Rose, Charles Chudabala, Tyler Gallant, Vernon Wells, Vincent M. Ward, and Sheri Davis.

A divorcee’s new” best friend” becomes an obsessive killer in this wild and wacky horror film from director Alex T. Hwang.

Not really feeling connected anymore and confronting her husband Andrew about it, Chloe finds herself divorced and going through a month of depression and loneliness. One day, her best friend Sam shows up to cheer her up. Sam gives Chloe an oversized teddy bear named Bearry. Finding comfort with Bearry, Chloe also finds herself unceremoniously going to one failed date after another.

When she meets her boss for a possible promotion, she finds herself harassed and decides not to deal with him. The next day, the boss is found dead. A failed date leads to a stalker finding himself mysteriously killed as well. When Andrew confronts Chloe and demands the wedding ring back, it’s clear that Bearry is the killer, having an obsession for Chloe. Meanwhile, Chloe finds love in restaurant owner Stephen, who had been there as her shoulder with the failed dates. Will Bearry target Stephen next or will he accept Chloe’s new love?

Teddy bears tend to be the one cheer up toy for kids and even adults who go through a traumatic moment in their lives. However, what if this teddy bear has the notion of protecting its owner at any cost, perhaps out of fear of seeing them hurt again. That seems to be the notion of this film, directed by Alex T. Hwang.

WorldFilmGeek Hall of Famer Sarah French is one of those actors who no matter how cheesy the film may sound, can elevate the films with her performances. Here, we get to see a range of emotions from her. We see her suffer heartbreak from the divorce. We see her at fimes in funny mode when it comes to some of the failed dates. We see her as a badass standing up to her boss.  We get to see her in scream queen mode when it comes to being confronted by the titular Bearry. These various forms of emotional range shows why she is one of the best actresses out there today.

If there is one thing I have learned from personal experience, fellow WFG Hall of Famer and horror icon Felissa Rose is amazingly enthusiastic on and off screen. She brings that enthusiasm to the role of Chloe’s bestie Sam, who is the one who gives her Bearry and tries to set her up on many dates, most of them a failure with a close call being Tyler Gallant’s Ryan (you know what’s in store from the film’s plot). There is a brief scene where Chloe gets more “help” in the dating world from gay bestie Luis, played by Charles Chudabala, but there is a good reason why he is not seen as much as Sam. It’s because Chudabala also plays the titular Bearry!

Vernon Wells and Vincent M. Ward play two detectives investigating the murders, suspecting Chloe as being the connection between the murders. Sheri Davis comes in as Katelyn, a mysterious recluse who just may be the key to unlocking who or what Bearry actually is. Thomas Haley, the film’s producer  and editor, is great as the shoulder turned love interest, restauranteur Stephen while Kevin Caliber brings a sense of toxic masculinity as Andrew, Chloe’s ex-husband. Look out for a cameo from genre auteur Joe Knetter as the “stalker” date.

Bearry is, as crazy as this sounds, both heartwarming and comedic in a horror fashion with an amazing lead performance by Sarah French and Felissa Rose doing what she does best in the genre. The kills are quite fun as well. Definitely a fun horror film to watch.

The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi.