Review | Endangered Species movie review: hyenas rule in survival thriller undermined by bad story and appalling CGI
- Kenya, where the film was shot, proves to be the real star of the show, and some stunning aerial cinematography doesn’t disappoint
- But the nonsensical plot beggars belief, while audiences are sure to find the whole experience ridiculous and lacking in thrills
1.5/5 stars
This glossy low-grade action film may have passed muster as a direct-to-video release 30 years ago, but the more sophisticated audiences of today will find it ridiculous and lacking in thrills. The landscape of Kenya, where the film was shot, looks magnificent, and benefits from some grandiose aerial cinematography, but the story is so bad it’s almost off the scale.
The endangered species of the title are actually an all-American family who get lost in a safari park in Kenya, although the plight of rhinos who are hunted for ivory does play a part – and the final part of the film does at least make a crude point about the evils of ivory smuggling.
The Halsey family decide to visit a remote safari park in Kenya to try and spice up their lives. For unclear reasons, they enter the safari park without signing in, and quickly get their car bashed to pieces by an angry rhino, who also wounds dad Jack (prolific TV actor Philip Winchester).
Stranded in the park, the family must try and survive the horrors of the wild – which include some vicious poachers – and get back to the lodge before they get eaten, or diabetic mum (Rebecca Romijn from Star Trek: Discovery and the X-Men films) runs out of insulin. As they skipped the entry line, no one notices they have disappeared, and various disasters ensue.