In a flagrant breach of health and safety regulations (and flying in the face of common sense), professor Sorenson (Roddy McDowall, not playing an ape for a change) locks the external doors to the college, trapping himself and a handful of his students inside the building while they play a real-life fantasy role-playing game (with the use of a hilariously crap computer, tracking devices and walkie-talkies). Their fun is interrupted by a crazed lab baboon called Shakma, whose brain has been fried by an experimental serum.
Who knew that a baboon - not much bigger than an average sized dog - could be so butt-clenchingly scary? Shakma, directed by Hugh Parks and Tom Logan, starts off on shaky ground, the nerds playing their silly game proving rather boring, but once the angry ape shows up to spoil the evening, the film proves surprisingly terrifying thanks to a standout performance from Typhoon the baboon. Crazier than Nic Cage on cocaine, the hairy horror gives his all, screeching loudly, crashing wildly against doors, leaping onto victim's faces, and generally being one incredibly fearsome furry fellow.
With a willingness to bump off any character, no matter how likeable, a smattering of gore (the baboon goes mad with jaws and claws and likes to eat his victims), and an unpredictable ending, Shakma is a solidly entertaining B-movie - so much so that it's easy to forgive the clichéd cat scare (and rat scare).
