Mahina: "You know, I also have killed a lion."......Angus Starling: "How many shots did you need?".......Mahina: "I used my hands.".

On Monday, I acquired a few new Dvds one of them being a great film, based on a true story, The Ghost and the Darkness. The story is about 2 African lions, who attacked and killed 130 people in a nine month period, in Tsavo, Africa.
The film stars Val Kilmer as John Patterson, who is a colonel and an engineer, sent to Africa to build a bridge across the Tsavo river. He is sent by Robert Beaumont (Tom Wilkinson) and leaves behind his pregnant wife Helena (Emily Mortimer). His job is supposed to take him five months, the perfect amount of time to get home when his baby is born.
When he arrives in Africa, he is met by Angus Starling (Brian McCardie) and they take a train ride to Tsavo. When they arrive they are greeted by Samuel (John Kani), who is in charge of most of the construction workers. They get to work almost immediately and things are going fine, until Dr. David Hawthorne (Bernard Hill) tells Patterson that someone has been attacked by a lion. Patterson decides he will kill it and that night he does kill a lion, but it was a lioness. A week goes by and everything has been moving along perfectly. Until another lion attack happens and then another. They realize it's two lions that have been attacking them and Starling gets killed in one of the attacks. When Beaumont shows up and isn't in a good mood, he says he is going to get ahold of the famous hunter Charles Remington (Michael Douglas).
After more attacks and deaths happen, the construction workers believe that it is because of Patterson that these lions are attacking. In the nick of time, Remington shows up, just as the workers were going to turn on Patterson.
Remington comes up with an idea to trick the lions. He gets the workers to build and new hospital, and then he and Patterson will hide in the old one, while its covered in the smell of blood. This plan backfires and the lions end up killing half of the people from the new hospital, even Dr. Hawthorne. The next day the rest of the workers leave and its only Samuel, Patterson and Remington left at the bridge camp. Patterson and Remington go after one of the lions, after they wound it and Remington shots it as it jumped right for him. That night the three men celebrate. Patterson wakes up to find Remington's tent a mess and Samuel finds his bloody body in a field.
Now it's up to Patterson and Samuel to kill the last lion, so the bridge can be finished, Patterson can see his new baby and they can keep their lives.
What a fun and thrilling watch this movie is. A top rate thriller/adventure flick, that actually gets you a little afraid of the "man-eater" lions. With lots of high-action scenes and great special effects, for 1996, during the lion attacks. The film also has adequate acting from Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas and even John Kani. This movie gives you the feeling and look of an adventure movie, with the terror and chills of a horror movie.
My Dvd has the original picture of Douglas and Kilmer on the front, with the shadow of a lion over top of them. The back has one good review: "Breathtaking.....Thrilling!," says Bob Thomas from the Associated Press.
The Ghost and the Darkness was released in 1996 and directed by Stephen Hopkins. Released by Constellation Films and Paramount Pictures.

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The Ghost and the Darkness: #560