Ghost and the Darkness Study Guide

Directed byStephen Hopkins

1996

Characters

John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer) – John is a military officer and engineer who is hired to finish a railroad bridge in Tsavo, Africa. His progress is hampered by several man-eating lions who seem to enjoy attacking the workers.

Samuel (John Kani) – The liaison between Patterson and the workers. He is in charge of managing the three different workers at the site (Africans, Muslim Indians and Hindu Indians).

Charles Remington (Michael Douglas) – A fictional character and professional hunter who is hired to help Patterson kill the lions. He is friends with local Masai warriors, who help hunt the lions. He succeeds in killing the first of the lions, but is killed by the second.

Angus Starling (Brian McCardie) – A missionary at the work site. He looks up to Patterson, but is one of the first people killed by the lions.

Dr. David Hawthorne (Bernard Hill) – The local surgeon at the camp. He is a more cynical character, and doubts Patterson’s abilities. He is eventually killed during the lions’ attack on the second hospital.

Abdullah (Om Puri) – The Muslim Indian leader who believes that the lions are there to punish the English for trying to rule the world. He gets in several arguments with Patterson.

Mahina (Henry Cele) – A tall African who serves as Patterson’s foreman on the railroad bridge construction. Although he himself is a lion-killer, he is the first victim of the Ghost and the Darkness.

Sir Robert Beaumont (Tom Wilkinson) – The English official in charge of finishing the railroad. He hires John Patterson to complete his bridge. He admits that he is a ‘monster’ and that he is a ruthless businessman.

Helena Patterson (Emily Mortimer) – Patterson’s pregnant wife. Patterson promises to finish the bridge before she can give birth to their son, but fails to do so because of the lion attacks.

Ghost and the Darkness – The two man-eating lions who attack the railroad workers during the film. Throughout the story, it is suggested that they are not behaving as normal lions do, and that they might be supernatural or evil.

Elements

  1. True Story – This story is based on true events that occurred in the late 1800s in what is now modern-day Kenya. The film is relatively accurate with only a few liberties. (Remington is a fictional character, Tsavo lions do not have manes, and although the film uses Patterson’s actual body count (135 workers), it is suspected that the lions actually killed 30-40 people.

Tone

  1. Horror – Although it is based on a true story, the film uses a lot of techniques that are common to horror films.

-Point of View of the attackers (We see things from the lions’ eyes).

-Jump scares (Several times the lions pop out of nowhere and attack).

-Dream sequence (There is a scene where Patterson imagines his wife and child being killed).

-Darkness/Night (Many of the attacks occur during night, where visibility is low.)

-Supernatural suggestion (It is believed by many characters that the lions are spirits or evil in nature).

-Macabre scenes (Such as the lions’ den being filled with the skulls and bones of their victims.)

Setting

  1. Tsavo – This place is located in what is now modern-day Kenya/Uganda in central Africa. (Supposedly ‘Tsavo’ is translated as ‘A place of slaughter’.)
  1. 1898 – The story takes place at the turn of the century, where modern technology was just beginning to occur. (They have modern guns and trains, but still use lanterns and telegraphs.)
  1. Railway/Bridge – The action occurs mostly around the camp where Patterson was building the bridge over the river Tsavo.
  1. British Empire – Although the film takes place in Africa, it is at the time when the British controlled much of the world, so although there are only a few British people in the film, they are all in charge/control of what is going on.
  1. Wilderness – Several scenes take place in the African wilderness.

Sub-Plots

  1. John’s Pregnant Wife – One of Patterson’s main motivations to see the railway bridge completed on time is that he can return to England to see his child born. His wife is seen visiting Africa twice, once in a dream and another time at the end of the film.
  2. Scramble for Africa – The pressure to complete the railway bridge on time is also due to the British competing with other European powers for the control of Africa.
  3. Slave Trade – Although mentioned sparsely, one thing the British were trying to stop was Muslims from northern Africa from kidnapping people from central Africa and turning them into slaves.
  4. Cultural Tension – The people working on the railroad do not get along. The British are seen as oppressors by the workers. The Africans do not get along well with the Indians, and the Indians do not get along well with each other as some are Hindu while others are Islamic. There is also some resentment towards the Christian missionaries.
  5. Patterson’s history in India – Patterson is demonstrated to be competent hunter who had to deal with Tigers in India.
  6. Science vs. Superstition/Religion – Some of the characters in the story see the lions as supernatural. There is also some conflict between religious characters and scientific ones.