A Uniquely Terrible Horror Sequel United The Two Best Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Villains

Sometimes, the stories behind the making of a movie end up being more interesting than the movie itself. That's definitely the case with the 2020 killer bear film "Grizzly II: Revenge." This absolutely awful sequel to 1976's semi-successful "Grizzly" (a blatant "Jaws" rip-off that swaps out the movie's shark for a bear) had all of the makings of a killer B-movie, with a cast of young upstarts who would go on to become wildly famous, along with some seasoned actors trying to earn an easy paycheck and an animatronic bear. Unfortunately, things went a little haywire. And by that I mean executive producer Joseph Ford Proctor allegedly disappeared on the first day of shooting in Hungary in 1983 (apparently, he ended up in jail?!), leaving co-producer Suzanne Csikos Nagy high and dry without financing. She eventually found a new financier and was able to complete filming, but the movie was in no shape to release, and it wasn't until 2020 that a "finished," official cut of "Grizzly II" saw the light of day.

While "Grizzly II" is abysmal (and not even in a fun way), it does have a few things in it that some die-hard film and TV fans might want to check out. First, there are the "blink-and-you'll-miss-them" performances from Laura Dern, Charlie Sheen, and George Clooney (all of whom had only barely started their careers when they made the movie). Second, it sort-of reunited the greatest "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" villains of all time, or at least the people who played them. Yes, both Louise Fletcher and Marc Alaimo, who played Kai Winn and Gul Dukat on "Deep Space Nine," respectively, appear in the grisly "Grizzly" sequel.

Because "Grizzly II" was filmed in 1983 but wasn't released until 2020, it was technically made before "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" ever debuted and released long after, which makes the whole "'Deep Space Nine' reunion" aspect a bit fuzzy. In reality, Fletcher was already an Oscar winner, having received an Academy Award for Best Actress for playing Nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," but she was willing to take on less prestigious roles  as well, like in "Exorcist II: The Heretic" and in the Belgian comedy "Mama Dracula." Meanwhile, Alaimo was a regularly working actor who was generally cast as a soldier or a guard, and something like "Grizzly II" wasn't outside of his wheelhouse.

In "Grizzly II," Alaimo plays Luke, a pretty minor character who just happens to be in Yellowstone (where the story is set) while the movie's killer bear is on the loose. Fletcher, on the other hand, plays superintendent Eileene Draygon, who's basically the film's version of Mayor Vaughn from "Jaws" and wants to put on a big concert in the park despite said killer bear. It's wild seeing the two of them and knowing this is a full decade before "Deep Space Nine," because other than some prosthetic makeup, they really look about the same.

It's hard to really recommend "Grizzly II" even if you're a die-hard animal attack movie fan or simply a fan of the actors who starred in it, because it's a truly confusing mess of a film that still feels unfinished. No amount of Alaimo or Fletcher is going to make that palatable, really, but there's good news: They both show up in dozens of episodes of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and even star in some of them together in (one of the show's most hilariously dark twists). Kai Winn, the religious leader of the Bajorans, is the "Star Trek" galaxy's ultimate Space Karen, while Gul Dukat essentially answers the question "What if Hitler was absolutely convinced he was a decent guy and also he got possessed by alien demons?" That alone makes him among the most powerful and terrifying "Star Trek" villains of all time. 

"Grizzly II" didn't end up being all that scary, with its wonky animatronics, busted budget, and troubled production. But Alaimo and Fletcher? They had being scary on lock.