The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

Set in 1898, this movie is based on the true story of two lions in Africa that killed 130 people over a nine month period... (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Stephen Hopkins
Written By: William Goldman
Starring: Om Puri, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Douglas, Emily Mortimer, Bernard Hill, John Kani, Henry Cele, Brian McCardie, Glen Gabela
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller, Action, Adventure
Where to Stream
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The Ghost and the Darkness belongs to 18 collections
1. IMDb Top 250 Complete (collaborative: moderated by Jorg - 23 stars)
2. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
3. #1 at the US Box Office (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 10 stars)
4. Africa (collaborative: moderated by td888 - 8 stars)
5. Killer animals (collaborative: moderated by whatismyname - 4 stars)
6. 19th century period film (collaborative: moderated by djross - 4 stars)
7. edkrak films to see (public: edkrak - 4 stars)
8. Eco-terror (collaborative: moderated by mattburgess - 3 stars)
9. Siskel and Ebert Worst (public: donkeyjelly - 3 stars)
10. Films Photographed by Vilmos Zsigmond (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 2 stars)
11. Netflix instant LATAM (collaborative: moderated by Roman_Herbom - 1 star)
12. Available on Starz (public: Jason212 - 1 star)
13. Stan Winston (collaborative: moderated by mwgerb)
14. Jerry Goldsmith (composer) (collaborative: moderated by djross)
15. 1996 Wide-released movies (collaborative: moderated by Roman_Herbom)
16. Oscar: Best Sound Editing (collaborative: moderated by Ceekay19)
17. Hunting wild animals (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
18. 1996: Year in Review (public: polanski28)
Browse the full list of collections
Date | User | Rating | |
Sep 12, 2021 | ![]() |
mrarn | 40 29th |
"The Ghost and the Darkness" is a well-made movie with some good performances. Unfortunately, the story is ineffective and doesn't create the drama needed to make it watchable.
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Jun 01, 2021 | spacefloh | 60 58th |
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ger; [der Geist und die Dunkelheit]; in Afrika soll eine Brücke gebaut werden, doch der bauleiter kämpft gegen zwei gefährliche Löwen die ihn hindern das Projekt fertig zu stellen.;
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Apr 21, 2021 | ![]() |
seals | 3 16th |
rewatch. 21-year-old me thought this was pretty badass. 46-year-old me thought it was pretty loud and stupid and may or may not have turned it off about halfway through. also wasn't Kilmer legendarily a huge dickhead when he was filming this?
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Aug 24, 2018 | ![]() |
metalhank | 62 51st |
Finally got around to watching this some 18 years later after its release and thought it was certainly a decent film. The cinematography is good and the late 19th century is well done with sets and costumes. The actors do a good job and there is a little suspenseful action occasionally.
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Feb 04, 2017 | Alex.Wald | 90 85th |
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The storyline is exactly what you'll read elsewhere: two hunters have to kill the lions who are terrorizing railway workers in Africa. It sounds extremely off-putting, but this is actually a very enjoyable film if you are into the "man vs. beast" kind of thriller/horror. It pulls you into the narrative and lets you empathize with the characters. Not to give any spoilers, but Val Kilmer's character's nightmare is truly horrifying. And the photography is beautiful. Try it.
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Aug 25, 2016 | ![]() |
philamental | 45 14th |
Haven't seen for years. Placeholder score until I can rewatch
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Jan 10, 2014 | ![]() |
The Pirate | 79 55th |
Not bad. I had read "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" when I was younger and loved it, so finding this movie was a bit of a treat; It certainly didn't disappoint when it came to the lions! Despite being a badass, Douglas is an unnecessary character, and as the lead, Kilmer was very unimpressive.
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Dec 03, 2013 | ![]() |
letskillrobots | 9 22nd |
Rooting for the lions in this one.
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Jun 15, 2013 | ![]() |
Sbosh | 64 21st |
Bloody lions vs 'husband' Kilmer & 'badass' Douglas
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Jul 12, 2012 | nilay0045 | 95 63rd |
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Although ridiculous at times, I highly enjoyed this prey-predator story.
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Apr 15, 2012 | ![]() |
Paxton | 62 40th |
Lions are naturally more frightening than they appear to be in this movie.
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Nov 20, 2011 | valjoelle | 100 90th |
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Great movie. Beautiful setting and scary action.
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Jun 12, 2011 | ![]() |
wayofthegun | 50 11th |
It's just okay; the writing isn't great, the acting is mediocre, but the story itself is compelling enough to keep you watching.
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Apr 10, 2011 | ![]() |
doctor7 | 63 42nd |
Decent enough film with great performances from Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas and John Kani. Manages a commendable job of making Earthly animals, in this case lions, have horror-like abilities. Quite suspenseful in places but can't really escape it's relatively mediocre screenplay.
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Feb 24, 2011 | ![]() |
IcyBrian | 68 34th |
I was halfway through this movie before I realized I'd seen it before. It's not bad, and is actually pretty entertaining for the most part. It's just not overly memorable.
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Sep 21, 2010 | ![]() |
hellboy76 | 65 45th |
Cheeseball thriller based on true events. Hilarious at times for the wrong reasons. One of my favorite bad movies.
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Jun 07, 2010 | ![]() |
fudgieb | 60 19th |
Drama? No. Action? Weak. Adventure? Boring. Horror? What?!?
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Mar 13, 2010 | ![]() |
Cinema_Asia | 65 42nd |
There are some genuinely decent suspense and action scenes. It takes a lot from Jaws and tries to be something unique but ends up as a mediocre effort.
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Dec 05, 2009 | ![]() |
stanthecaddy | 75 50th |
A pleasant surprise. The story is solid, the cast is able, and the African scenery is beautiful to look at. Michael Douglas hams it up as a hunter, Val Kilmer does well in his role, and the supporting cast is good. My only qualm is that one major plot point late in the movie doesn't get the attention that it deserves. Overall, a good movie- not amazing, but worth checking out if you're looking for a classy killer wildlife flick.
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Aug 20, 2009 | ![]() |
yawkcorb | 80 34th |
Those lions are BIG!
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Aug 12, 2009 | ![]() |
Anselmi86 | 54 29th |
So much cooler when I was a kid. Still kind of a remarkable story.
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Aug 01, 2009 | ![]() |
Okkervil | 57 46th |
Has its moments.
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Jul 10, 2009 | stevemoser | 81 43rd |
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Val was great, the other d00d, not so much.
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May 11, 2009 | dippyblonde | 75 53rd |
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A better film than I thought it would be. Based on the true story of 2 man eating lions that attacked and killed over 100 people as they were trying to build a railway line though Tsavo... This was made when both Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas were the talk of Hollywood and both shine in their roles. This is an often overlooked gem of the mid-ninties which deserves to be watched once
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May 04, 2009 | ![]() |
rthornhill | 85 45th |
Good adventure film that has nothing to do with ghosts, but lions that appear out of nowhere like ghosts.
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Apr 26, 2009 | ![]() |
martryn | 65 39th |
Not really that compelling to me. Kinda fun to rewatch due to my renewed interest in Val Kilmer.
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Jul 19, 2008 | hank | 75 49th |
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A good movie, but I've seen it like 1000 times.
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Jul 16, 2008 | ![]() |
TheDiceman | 60 62nd |
Pretty good.
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Jun 24, 2008 | ![]() |
Suture Self | 3 25th |
Nothing special but not bad by any means. Worth a watch if you're interested in anything related to imperialism. The african scenery is also nice to look at.
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May 28, 2008 | scurry | 40 33rd |
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Didn't feel right.
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May 19, 2008 | ![]() |
hehejaja | 60 39th |
memory says: awesome.
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Oct 24, 2007 | oolookitty | 80 58th |
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A surprisingly effective thriller. And I bet the woman who sat behind me with her four-year-old was really sorry when the kid had nightmares for the next several years.
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Sep 15, 2007 | Dustyd | 20 1st |
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Practically a slapstick comedy. This was just a silly and unscary film that had only one redeeming feature....Douglas.
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Aug 23, 2007 | st_fly | 68 64th |
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Good
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Aug 20, 2007 | ![]() |
Geopoop | 78 87th |
This is one of my favorite movies of 1996.
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Aug 14, 2007 | Mathew | 75 71st |
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Good film, worth a watch.
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Aug 14, 2007 | ![]() |
rockwell | 69 33rd |
lions, men and um....
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Aug 14, 2007 | ![]() |
GravyMaximus | 70 66th |
Underrated.
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Aug 07, 2007 | Cheesebadger | 75 47th |
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Will make you scared as fuck of lions.
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May 26, 2007 | juice | 50 36th |
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Badass Lions.
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Jan 24, 2007 | istayaway | 75 33rd |
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Surprisingly decent.
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Average Percentile 44.49% from 1428 Ratings | ![]() |