Plot: A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.
I finally got a chance to rewatch The Ghost and the Darkness recently to see if it holds up or not, and I’m glad to say that it does!
The cast in this is all around solid, particularly Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas; I will admit that certain times Kilmer’s accent comes and goes, but I managed to deal with it.
The story is well told throughout, you even find out why it’s called The Ghost and the Darkness, which I found fascinating and very creative.
The direction by Stephen Hopkins is great; what I love was the way he shot the scenes with the lions whether it’s from their point of view (that’s almost like Predator when they show it) or from the close up to their eyes.
Once you get to the lion attacks, it becomes very brutal especially the first one which surprised me as I didn’t remember that, so it was like I was watching this for the very first time.
The score helps build the tension during those scenes thanks to one of my favorite composers Jerry Goldsmith who always delivered especially in the 90’s.
My only real problem is the handling of Tom Wilkinson’s character, you expected him to be a major part, but then his character is all of a sudden dropped and you never see him again.
Overall, The Ghost and the Darkness is a thriller that I believe is underrated; it has a good cast, a fantastic score by Jerry Goldsmith, looks great visually, is well directed by Stephen Hopkins, and ratchets up the tension nicely. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest checking it out.
