Chad

Trevor

Ironic to see Roddy McDowall killed by a monkey.

Completely mediocre I guess, nothing about it really stands out as above average to me, but little of it was horrible imo.

Darkgod

This is how I like my 90's horror movies... full of cheese. Feels like something that was shown on USA's Up All Night. I mean you get a killer monkey, with cool kills... and an old form of larping... yes please.

Spiderbite

I had high hopes for this movie due to the B-list celebrities, cheesy role playing game, bad dialogue, etc. But this wasn't one of those movies where it is so bad it is good. It was just bad. No nudity, little gore, a non-menacing baboon, terrible acting, plodding plot, etc., etc., etc. It just wasn't fun.

Was this a TV movie? It sured played like one.

My rating: *1/2 out of *****

Mondo Kane

Well, I'll tell you what. I loved the ending. That conclusion basically saved the movie from complete mediocrity for me (Those last few victims were also quite unexpected too) LOL'd at that chick's attempts to get Laura's attention from inside the building

Did the guy that play Gary host Nick Arcade? *Quickly IMDB's him* Nope, guess not.

Trevor

There was one great thing about the film, imo; the below shot.

omike

Yes, that was a good shot -- I noticed it while watching too.

I thought there were a few exciting parts when Shakma first started the rampage but then things got repetitious (Shakma almost breaking down a door) and a bit dull. I was surprised at how much Sam liked collecting bodies -- something you don't see very often in the hero. The soundtrack helped build tension in places but elsewhere was just kind of overwhelming.

Overall I've seen worse and this one had some entertainment value. I'll give it 3 or 4 out of 10.

That trailer was great though.

pagefrance

First of all, kudos to Darth Maher on choice of film, I really enjoyed it, but then again I'm partial to any movie with Roddy McDowall. Yes, the pacing was a bit plodding and there was way too much running around in hallways but it had some decent kills and even some suspense. I was not expecting the young girl to get killed at the end, and as Mondo Kane states the ending really saves the film. I also loved how Shakma would hurl himself at doors and go apesh*t trying to get through (pardon the pun).
If this movie were made nowadays they would have a lame CGI baboon but here we get the real thing which is much better.

Undeadcow

I enjoyed Shakma, mediocre film as it was. The hallways seemed so lifeless and cluttered with junk that looked out of place.

I thought the end was cheesy, foiled by mirrors... again.The monkey was hilarious. It felt like a genius stalker film parody with such an absurd villain.

cproaps

I think the baboon is just pissed because his Conair hair crimper burned out.

shellebelle

I totally enjoyed this movie. Didn't think I would, but how can you go wrong when Roddy McDowall gets munched by a monkey for crying out loud! Yes, pure cheese, but it totally made my morning.

DaveyJoe

Watching now and I have a few questions.

The movie's title is Shakma, but the monkey, er baboon's name is spelled Shockma in the movie. What gives?

Why does everybody hate Richard?

Why is there sexual tension between the med student and the 13 year old girl?

DaveyJoe

Bradley is so creepy. He sounds like he's flirting with everybody or he just had a silent fart and is eagerly awaiting for others to notice.

Richard passes on a night of sex with his girlfriend to play a nerdy RPG game, then refuses to participate in said game.

When you stumble upon a mangled corpse that seems to still be melting from acid, the first thing you should do is dip your fingers into the bloody carnage, then touch your expensive white shirt, and finally touch your face.

At 37:30, there's a picture of an otter on the wall.

Go home guy doing foley sound effects for shoe bottoms, you're drunk.

DaveyJoe

20 minutes after everybody dies, Gary is still just playing the game.

Guy missing face, better check pulse.

I could watch this monkey thrash against doors for the rest of the movie, something tells me I will.

DaveyJoe

Here's my Shakma video review, I hope you enjoy:

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mkbR0dZlSy0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Mondo Kane

^You, sir, have just created the thread of the year. Congrats!

arw6040

I thought the setting, humor of it, and kill scenes were cool. However, I do agree with omike that it was repetitive and it dragged on. It was a one time film for me but not bad for an average killer monkey flick.

indiephantom

Watched Richard Franklin's Link and then Shakma and really liked them both as films that are rarely discussed;all the B-level goodness of these had me smiling from ear to ear. Wish I could have squeezed in a couple more for this theme, but weekdays can be a bitch.

indiephantom

This is why I enjoyed this and Link and Monkey Shines so much. I guess Project X (the '80s one) kind of spoiled the fun for getting real monkeys more work.

Dick Laurent

Totally cheese-ville, and had a great vibe. I definitely think the director was having a blast "cheesing" it up more than usual.

It coulda been about ten minutes shorter, IMO. There were an easy ten minutes combined of people just thinking about what to do before they did it. That wait time was maddening to me. But there were some classic WTH choices; like leading Shakma into a room with two doors, but not bothering to close the second door to distract him for at least a minute. And bonus, when I'm in an elevator getting ready to go up to my death, really glad the person with all of the most vital, lifesaving information doesn't bother to tell me anything except to ask where I am...

Really, it's almost never ending gems with this one!

DaveyJoe

I'd like to thank the director of Shakma, who thought it'd be funny to rub monkey pheromones on a door and see what happens.

Undeadcow

That is a great video, the door barging monkey was the best part of Shakma... now people don't have to waste ~85 minutes to get to the good stuff.

DaveyJoe

The first time it happened I was like "wow that monkey is pissed." The second time he started headbutting the door and I could not stop cracking up. Considering they killed nearly all of the supporting characters within the first 30 minutes I figured we'd have a lot more monkey vs. door action, and I would have to make a montage after the movie.

So did anybody else really hate the main character? He constantly insisted on splitting up or leaving the female characters alone and defenseless. He took his time when there should have been a severe sense of urgency. He failed to protect anybody and had a bizarre fetish of moving bodies around for no reason. Then he used his mouse friend as bait at the end. And the entire homicidal monkey scenario was his fault for carelessly picking up the wrong drug. I was so pissed when both Tina and Kimberly were killed off with 20 minutes left in the run time featuring just this bozo. At that point I was actually rooting for Shakma and his campaign against doors.

rbrown498

Wow, but this movie was bad. And by that, I mean that it was bad-bad, not fun-bad. I don't think that I've seen more poorly-constructed sets in any movie, and the director(s) had absolutely no idea how to pace the thing or build any kind of tension. I doubt that a good movie could have been made from the elements in Shakma, but this was more awful than I imagined it would (or even could) be. Painful to endure.

Burgundy LaRue

What a goofy movie! It was bad, but also very campy, so I was moderately entertained by it. It actually became funny to see how everyone dropped the ball in terms of telling the others about how a crazy lab animal was on a rampage. You'd think that would be a priority, and would have prevented at least one death.

The baboon was the best actor, and second place isn't close. If it were 20 minutes shorter, this would be a total blast to watch. As it is, it does become repetitive and that takes away some of the fun. But I could watch him slam against doors for hours!

I didn't get the point of Kimberly. Was she part of the intern program? Someone's little sister? And what was she wearing when she was dreaming about being 'rescued'? It looked like a chiffon nightgown got into a fight with Grandma's tapestry sofa cushion.

Going around picking up the bodies made zero sense. I get not wanting to leave behind your friends, but your goal should be to get any survivors out of the building and call the cops. No one was smart enough to work toward that goal in any meaningful way. They basically deserved to be eaten by Shakma.

This usually isn't my cuppa, but I enjoyed this. So thanks to Darth Maher for picking it!