In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro (1986)

Simply A Masterpiece

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"In The Shadow of Kilimanjaro" has a lot of good things going for it. The story, like every script that is based on true events, has some facts embellished but is convincing and flows well. The basic premise is that in Kenya in 1984, there was this "perfect storm" of events that lead to a terrifying spectacle. A severe drought killed off much of the vegetation and small animals in the country. What it didn't kill were thousands of baboons, which eventually turned into hungry mobs, devouring anything in their path, including humans.The animal training and the shots of wildlife are really amazing, lending a lot of credibility to the story. There are literally hundreds of animals on the screen and you think to yourself that the shots of these apes all running in one direction must have been stock footage or computer effects but no. There was extensive work when the film was made to train all of these animals to perform for some key scenes in the movie that are quite impressive.The film almost plays like a zombie film, with hordes of man-eating creatures who can't be reasoned with just waiting for the time to strike and in that aspect the film can be quite effective. Where it doesn't quite work is that the film doesn't go far enough into the horror genre, with many shots of potentially shocking attacks being abruptly cut. This might have been done for budgetary reasons, but nonetheless they leave you wanting so much more than they deliver. The ending also comes very abruptly and isn't quite as satisfying as it should be. The film is nevertheless quite good and if you're a fan of zombie films, this is one of those stories that didn't want to be a variation on the genre, but ended up being on. If you've ever wanted to see a good animal-based horror story, look no further. (On VHS, October 5, 2012)

If you've ever wondered why the Scotti Brothers music company didn't last long when they tried their hand in cinema, this movie would be a good place to start. It's hard to believe this actually got released widely enough that Siskel and Ebert took the time to review it on their show (both giving it thumbs down.) Poorly photographed, atrociously edited, and with a plot that's more of an idea than an actual story, given how little is done with anything that comes up. The gore sequences, while explicit, come off as a desperate attempt to entertain more than anything else. There is one eye-catching visual (during the flat tire sequence) that will get your attention and make you wonder how they did it. But unless you also happen to like seeing talented actors of some fame get humiliated, it's not worth the effort to see. Though afterwards you will be able to say truthfully, "I saw Timothy Bottoms' bottom!"

A ridiculous story of a drought in Africa which results in 90,000 baboons deciding to attack humans as their only way of getting food. Yes, that's right, 90,000 red-assed baboons munch their way through the cast during this silly 97 minute horror flick. There's a fair bit of needless gore, which doesn't help, and lots of build ups which peter out without delivering an exciting or frightening pay-off. The only decent thing about this movie is John Rhys-Davies (who was so great in Raiders of the Lost Ark), who injects a bit of interest in a somewhat underwritten role.

The basic plot of IN THE SHADOW OF KILIMANJARO (1986) is that an army of crazed, homicidal babboons are killing folks left and right in the middle of nowhere. The thing the filmmakers should of realised is that babboons always look kind of bored. An example comes in one scene where a movie character has a flat tire in the desert. We cut to shots of yawning, pre-occupied looking monkeys watch him from afar. They seem to be saying "Hoo-Hummm, I dunno, should I kill him? I don't know, rather sit here and pick flies off my fur. (Yawn....) Okay. Let me go down and kill 'em." We had a good laugh with this one.