Expected more

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

My 10/10 rating means that "Shakma" is so ridiculous that it's fun. It's basically an excuse for a baboon to come up with ways to kill people who had the misfortune of playing a game in a building with no way to communicate with the outside world. Roddy McDowall - himself a veteran of a certain primate-themed franchise - plays the stodgy scientist who doesn't understand the danger. And the blonde woman? That's Amanda Wyss, best known as the first victim in "A Nightmare on Elm Street". She's a real babe here.But of course the star is the aggressive simian. I guess that one could say...he goes bananas. This movie reminds us that we shouldn't, well, monkey with nature.A truly enjoyable time.

The students in the med school of a university play a "Dungeons & Dragons" type of role playing game in their tower after hours. They're supervised by their head professor, Sorenson (Roddy McDowall). Unfortunately, one of their primate charges is a baboon named Shakma (played by "Typhoon"), who has been genetically altered - big surprise there - and who has now gone absolutely crazy, slaughtering any stupid human unlucky enough to be close to it. As the humans dwindle in number, they find that getting help from the outside world is next to impossible."Shakma" is pretty laughable, all right, not that it's *completely* worthless. The action is passable, the suspense passable. The most entertaining aspect is the animal action. Typhoon is a real force of nature and was obviously trained as well as a baboon could possibly be trained. Things get pretty gory, too. The movie is generally amusing for putting an "animal attack" spin on the standard slasher formula. Everything about it is no more than adequate on a technical level; it suffers the most from its silly script and inane characterizations. The actors treat the material with the best poker faces that they can muster: former teen idol Christopher Atkins, Amanda Wyss of the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street", Ari Meyers of 'Kate & Allie'. The casting of McDowall is certainly appropriate given his iconic role(s) in the "Planet of the Apes" franchise.This is a junk movie, to be sure, but it's still reasonably entertaining. One big problem is that it's overextended, going on too long at approximately an hour and 42 minutes.Five out of 10.

A wild baboon attacks medical students who are playing a game, trapped in a large tower.Why did this movie attract my attention? The great cast. We have Roddy McDowell with a bow tie, Playgirl model Christopher Atkins ("Blue Lagoon") and Amanda Wyss ("A Nightmare on Elm Street"). A solid cast right there, despite this being a film that few people have probably ever heard of. Granted, these were 1980s stars on their way down at that point, but still decent.Ari Meyers, who may be less well-known, is also present, dressed as though she was prepared to audition for a role on "Full House". The breakout character was actually Bradley, the homosexual nerd, played by unknown actor Tre Laughlin, who apparently never acted in anything else.The problem with this film is that it runs a bit too long, especially towards the last act, and that earns it a five. A six would have happened if it was trimmed down -- the monkey is not on screen too much or too little and we spent a fair amount of time watching these people play a game. Important in some ways, but the game has little to do with them getting attacked -- they could have been doing anything. (Although it is interesting to see how little is revealed to the audience -- if you figure out the rules of the game just by watching, well done).This also is the sort of movie where the audience might point out the dozen or so bad decisions made by each character. Despite a lack of phone or fire alarms, surely they must have some way to get in and out of the building... but it never seems to occur to anyone, with their best thought being to throw silverware out a vent to see if someone notices. (And if they do notice, why will it make them call the police?)Not bad as a hidden gem, but not something to go out of your way for, either. Could make a nice double feature set with "Link".

You are currently reading about an excellent (see: totally ridiculous) Saturday morning monster movie starring Amanda "Tina from A Nightmare on Elm St." Wyss and Christopher "Blue Lagoon" Atkins (among others). Sounds like a terrible movie, so why do you love it mickeyshamrock? Well, aside from the typical "so bad it's good" moments, and my raging hard on for Amanda Wyss, the baboon footage is insane. I've never seen anything like it. Shakma (aka Typhoon) literally goes ape sh*t every take. Every time the baboon is on camera it elevates this movie beyond it's B-movie shackles. Definitely to be watched in one sitting, breaking it up will only expose some of it's faults. Turn off your mind and get ready for some ape-tastic surprises.