In this South African action thriller with political undertones, CIA agent Bo Peterson, working undercover in some unstable African country, unveils the inhuman plan of president Mbule to wipe out local rebels. Peterson comes across a village with all people killed by an unknown force and has a hunch that all men, women, children, dogs and other living creatures on that grounds didn't fall prey to any usual virus or disease. In fact, inhabitants of the village were exposed to the effects of a new chemical weapon for their cooperation with rebels. This weapon was developed in a plant officially serving as a producer of fertilizers but in reality controlled by Lybian terrorists stocking president Mbule with means of destruction. When Lybians find out their plant was infiltrated by a stranger who could expose their activities, the head of terrorists named Assad (impersonated by Arnold Vosloo)commences a man-hunt.The main concern of all players in this game is one audio tape containing evidence. In quest for the tape, the Lybians don't hesitate to use guns, blow a market place to pieces, endanger a bus full of passengers or kidnap civilians.A female reporter and her son Matthew, who got involved in the whole affair thanks to agent Peterson, become hostages since Assad somehow concluded that the tape containing classified information is inside Matthew's walk man . The tape is taken away from Matthew and one of Assad's men incapable of violence against minors leaves the kid in the desert, without supplies but unharmed. Lucky for poor Matthew, a bush-man knowing natural medicine and survival strategies appears and sees to it that the kid and his mother pull through. In the meantime, Bo Peterson locates the place where the terrorists keep the reporter and some other folks and gives the villains their just reward. When agent Peterson plays the tape near the end of the movie, it contains nothing but some disco music. Does it mean all casualties were in vain? On several occasions, it's hard to tell what's going on in the movie. There are some bloody bullet hits, several stunts and explosions and one guy stabbed with a screwdriver. Nothing special apart from that. Czech VHS was released in 1994.
3 Reviews
A movie with many, many, problems ...........
merklekranz16 February 2021
The South African landscapes are by far the most interesting feature of "The Rutanga Tapes", also known as "Killer Instinct." The story of a chemical weapons plant hidden in the African jungle, posing as a fertilizer factory, is both murky and confusing. Not until three quarters of the movie has run do things somewhat crystalize after David Dukes carefully explains to Susan Anspach what is going on. Acting by anyone not named Dukes is simply awful. In fact the Bushman, who speaks in his own language shows better acting skills than everyone else. Arnold Vosloo is about as believable as an Arab as he would be as Santa Claus. Susan Anspach gives a performance that screams she would rather be anywhere else than in the oppressive African desert. Unless you are completely enamored with one of the actors, this is one to skip. MERK
Hard to dislike
Leofwine_draca16 May 2022
Despite numerous negative reviews I rather liked this low budget South African thriller, which involves a sinister conspiracy involving the Libyans, a missing audio cassette, and a manhunt for the thief. It's packed full of shoot-em-up moments which I always enjoy, and it has in its cast Arnold Vosloo as another enjoyable villain. Plus there's a helpful bushman, a looklike of N!xau, so overall it's very hard to dislike.
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