Naman Shrestha
Inspired by true events that occurred in 1985, ‘Cocaine Bear’ is a dark comedy thriller movie helmed by Elizabeth Banks that follows a 500lb black bear who intakes a significantly large portion of cocaine it finds in a duffel bag. After the effects of cocaine hit the bear, it goes off the rails and begins its killing rampage in a small town. Now, in order to survive the attacks of the intoxicated bear, a group of local people and tourists, including cops, criminals, and teens, must work together and come up with a plan.
The action film features impressive onscreen performances from a bunch of talented actors, including Ray Liotta, Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Margo Martindale, Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. While the thrilling yet comedic narrative keeps the audience invested in the movie, the use of different locations makes one curious about the actual filming sites of ‘Cocaine Bear.’
Cocaine Bear: Where Was it Filmed?
‘Cocaine Bear’ was filmed in its entirety in Ireland, specifically in the counties of Dublin and Wicklow, and Dalkey Island. As per reports, the principal photography for the dark comedy movie commenced in August 2021 and wrapped up in October 2021. In order to create the bear with CGI, the filming unit spent a significant amount of its budget on Wētā FX. Although the story is set in Georgia, they chose to shoot the film in Ireland due to the similarity in terrain between the two locations. Now, without much ado, let’s take a look at all the specific sites where the bear goes off on a killing rampage!
County Dublin, Ireland
Many pivotal sequences for ‘Cocaine Bear’ were lensed in County Dublin, one of the 32 traditional counties of Ireland and the most populous one with more than 1,450 million residents as of 2022. Most of the forest scenes involving the bear and the tourists were reportedly shot in and around Barnaslingan. Furthermore, Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, possibly served as yet another important production location for the thriller movie.
Tourism plays a significant role in the county’s economy as millions of tourists visit County Dublin each year, with the city of Dublin being the nation’s most popular destination for domestic tourists. There are various attractions and landmarks that are popular among tourists, including the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Zoo, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the National Gallery of Ireland, the National Botanic Gardens, and the National Museum of Ireland.
County Wicklow, Ireland
Several key portions of ‘Cocaine Bear’ were taped in County Wicklow, another one of the 32 traditional counties of the Republic of Ireland. The production team reportedly set up camp at various sites across the county to record different scenes against suitable backdrops. For instance, Powerscourt Waterfall, situated at the base of the Glensoulan Valley on the River Dargle, served as one of the prominent filming sites for the Keri Russell starrer.
In addition, the filming unit utilized the locales of the town of Avoca and the village of Enniskerry to shoot some pivotal scenes as well. During the production process, the cast and crew members were also spotted lensing a few portions in the Wicklow Mountains, the largest continuous upland area in Ireland.
Dalkey Island, Ireland
Just located 16km south of Dublin in the Barony of Uppercross, Dalkey Island also supposedly features in some sequences of ‘Cocaine Bear.’ It is an uninhabited island that consists of a colony of seals, rabbits, and wild goats. Moreover, the island is known for being a good fishing spot as well with many kinds of fishes to catch, such as pollock, coalfish, wrasse, and mackerel.
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