HORROR MONTH #8: Unedited Footage of a Bear, by Alan Resnick (2014)

Type of Media: Short Film/Alternate Reality Game

I think it's fair to call American society 'overmedicated'. Prescription drug abuse has gotten so bad that the CDC has labeled it an epidemic. Oxycontin and fentanyl are prime candidates for abuse, but even medication like antihistamines are addictive when taken in high dosage. As a result communities that thought they would never have to deal with widespread drug problems are learning that people struggling with drug addiction don't all look like stereotypical junkies. They can look like your neighbors as well.

Unedited Footage of a Bear starts innocently enough. A mom in an advertisement for allergy medicine Claridryl explains how the drug helps her deal with her two rambunctious kids when she's sick. She stands with her family, telling the camera that Claridryl let's her get back to "what really matters." Then she gets in her minivan and drives away.

But the commercial doesn't end. It keeps going, and it gets considerably darker. The mom seems to be dealing with the side effects of Claridryl, alternating between mania, depression, and complete psychosis while terrorizing her family. All throughout the video warnings about Claridryl's use appear at the bottom of the screen, underscoring the medicine's slogan: Acts Immediately, Lasts Indefinitely.

Things get even weirder when you go to the website advertised in the video, www.claridryl.com. While initially everything appears normal, click around for a minute and the website will glitch and deteriorate. Clicking on the 'House' button will take you to a game where you explore the home from the commercial, where some... unique things are buried in the basement.

Unedited Footage of a Bear was originally aired on Adult Swim at 4AM, when the network would normally be airing infomercials. It lacks opening credits and the first 30 seconds or so are a complete misdirection, so it's confusing and disturbing when things start to go awry. It doesn't feel like a piece of media that was created by people, but rather as an anomaly that you shouldn't be seeing. I can only imagine how terrifying it would be to fall asleep in front of the TV and wake up to this playing out in front of you.

I assume a lot of people reading this grew up in the mid-2000s when Adult Swim was the coolest thing on television. If their brand of weirdness jived with you, I urge you to watch Unedited Footage of a Bear as well as their other faux-infomercials. If anything, it shows that Adult Swim still has the power to make you go "I can't believe I'm seeing this on television."