The Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 movie based on the book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, depicting attacks by man-eating lions on the builders of the Uganda Railway in Tsavo in 1898 and how the lions were killed by John Henry Patterson.

Written by William Goldman and directed by Stephen Hopkins, the film romanticises Patterson's rather matter of fact description and adds to the horror and gore element of the story. The script also introduces a fictional character, the big game hunter Remington, to enhance the narrative.

Starring were Val Kilmer as Patterson and Michael Douglas as Remington.

Michael Douglas put in a good performance in what looked to be a rather fun role, but Kilmer was rather miscast, neither looking nor sounding British with his Euro-American looks and poor accent.

There was some nice photography and moody direction.

See also

• Tsavo maneaters