'90s Class: The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

 Apex Predators are the one thing that can connect DC and Marvel fans!

This is The Ghost and the Darkness, a Film based on a real-life incident.  Lions are terrifying- spoken as someone who lives in a City without one in a hundred miles from me.

Also spoken as someone who has seen Roar.

The Film features Batman (Val Kilmer), Ant-Man (Michael Douglas) and Black Panther (John Kani aka T'Chaka).  That's some Comic Book Star Power!

It comes to us from Director Stephen Hopkins, who has a very diverse Filmography.  He's made A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, Predator 2, a thriller called Under Suspicion, Lost in Space and a Biopic on Jesse Owens!

Can he bring a tale of dangerous lions (that hate trains, I guess) to life for a generation?  To find out, read on...

An Engineer (Kilmer) is hired by a posh man (Tom Wilkinson) to build some bridges for train tracks in Africa.

The real guy wasn't an Engineer, but, you know, Movies.

Oh, and this is the SECOND Tom Wilkinson appearance for me in two days, as he was the Dad in The Green Hornet, which I watched the day before this.

Spooky.

He's a bit of an expert on Africa, at least as far as what you can read in Books.

Is he ready for what is really out there though?

A lion attacks someone one night at Camp, so he hunts it the next day.

He's celebrated as a hero...for about a week.

That's when his top man- who claims to have killed a lion with his bare hands- is killed at night by a lion!

He sets up another trap for the lion, but it fails.

He rushes to stop an attack in the camp DURING THE DAY and is jumped by...a second lion.

Yep, these ones hunt in packs- which they definitely don't do normally!

Mostly undaunted (as his Preacher Buddy was killed in the attack), he sets a new trap.

It lures a lion in, trapping it on the other side of some steel bars from some tiger hunters from India that he brought in (he once hunted them too).

This doesn't work as they are too scared to shoot straight and one is even partially deafened by its roar (which is apparently possible!!!!).

Plan C?

Breaking from the real story, they bring a Hunter (Michael Douglas- who cast himself, since he was a Producer).

Him and his lion hunters fail to kill them when Kilmer's gun misfires.

The helpers leave, since they think that the lions are actually evil spirits (hence the Title).

Plan Whatever involves a baboon as bait (lions hate them, apparently) and hunting platforms.

Douglas kills one, while the other is nowhere to be seen.
In real life, that character was never there, so he never did this.

Kilmer dreams of a happy reunion with his wife and newborn son, while the remaining lion runs from another side and jumps them.

This is supposed to seem real, but...come on.

This is way too goofy!

The remaining lion apparently stealth killed and ate Douglas during the night, leading to a final battle.

Can Batman and Black Panther stop a lion?

Yes, but not easily.

In the aftermath, everyone is happy and his family does arrive sans lion attack.
The End.

A fun and exciting Film that plays just enough with history to make it believable.

This one does give you plenty of real things in it.  I do wish that the Narration (by T'Chaka) wasn't so on the nose about how 'this all really happened' though.

It's a bit much.

It does tweak things here and there, adding, well, a Quint Character to the Story.  He meets essentially the same fate too.

Is this just Land Jaws?

No.

The Film's Special Effects- Animatronics, real lions and camera trickery- are amazing.  Stan Winston's work is always great, so no shock there.

Apparently they picked out a 375lb lion and Winston's company made animatronics.  When they arrived, the Filmmakers had switched to a 450lb lion!

Big props to all of the Actors, but especially Kilmer.  He went right from the set of The Island of Dr. Moreau (an experience so bad that a Film was made about it!) to this one...and he was also in the middle of a divorce.

None of this shows in his performance, so kudos.

This one still flies kind of under the radar, even if it finally got a Blu-Ray in 2022.  Just know that the real lions looked...a bit different (as they are still on display).

Next up, a Horror Film by a Rock Star.  Will this one make me sew my mouth shut?  Stay tuned...