Customer Reviews

Monkey Shines [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Yes, fans of George Romero who believe he's only capable of creating zombie/gore films and are looking for cheap thrills will likely be disappointed in this film; others who appreciate razor-sharp suspense, well-defined characters, and the fascinating thin line between man and animal will love this spellbinding thriller. A wheelchair-bound man who is sufffering from depression gets a scientifically altered monkey as a companion and helper...suddenly the man develops a renewed interest in life when the monkey steals his heart. But before long, science has hindered the progression of nature, and the monkey starts acting on its own animal instincts, ensnaring the man in a psychological battle of wills. The final half hour is edge-of-your-seat riveting; Romero did a splendid job balancing the drama and shocks with a fascinating insight in teh relationship between man and beast. "Monkey Shines" is, simply put, a classic suspense film, and most highly recommended for fans of quality cinema.

From a purely animal training perspective this movie is brilliant. Romero did a great job directing these 6, 10 pounds capuchin monkeys to look like 1 monkey did the job. Much harder than Lassie and Flipper.The editing was also very slick. Watch the movie from a technical POV and see if you can find the different monkey faces, bodies and also puppets used in the more intense scenes.

I trained them all and was very proud of them.

Allan Mann (Jason Beghe) had a bright and promising future. He had a beautiful girlfriend. He was physically fit. All of that is taken away from him in the blink of a headlight, when Allan gets run down by a truck and is left a bitter, hopeless quadriplegic. He loses all zest for life until a sprightly Capuchin monkey named Ella (played by Boo) enters his world. She's been trained to do everything for him, but soon she starts to read his mind... And what's in Allan's mind isn't very nice. Still, Ella is determined to fulfill her beloved master's every wish: Allan think, monkey do.

As someone who is not enamored of Romero's zombie flicks, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Yes, it's hokey here and there, but it never fails to entertain.

Based upon the novel Monkey-shines, by Michael Stewart.

Staci Layne Wilson

"Night of the Living Dead" fanatics will disagree, but in my opinion "Monkey Shines" represents George Romero at the top of his game. (Okay, I love "Creepshow", too.) It is one of the most well-crafted suspense movies I have ever seen. It takes a potentially ludicrous scenario and knocks your socks off with it. A quadriplegic law student named Alan (excellently played by the underrated actor Jason Beghe), develops a psychic bond with his nurse-maid monkey, Ella. Alan understandably has a short temper and no sense of humor about his condition; he's not aware, however, that the confused but well-meaning Ella has been acting upon his violent revenge fantasies. It all comes to a head one dark and stormy night when Ella finally goes over the edge and menaces her master endlessly, despite vain rescue attempts by his pals.
How many ways can a little monkey torment a grown man? Plenty, it turns out, if you can't move like Alan. His claustraphobia and terror are wonderfully and effectively splashed across the screen by both Beghe and Romero's camera. The supporting cast, especially the two actors playing his overbearing mother and his best friend Geoffrey (forgive me, I can't remember their names at the moment), is superb. And if the suspense-packed final 30 minutes of this movie don't give you goosebumps a-plenty, you'd better check your pulse.
A couple flaws:
1. An overly cheesy ending preceded by a lame "final scare" (which I hear was forced upon Romero by the studio).
2. A bizarre sex scene which induces either head-scratching confusion or incredulous laughter.
3. The whole "mad scientist" aspect of the plot: WHY exactly does Geoffrey's intelligence-boosting potion wind up linking Ella to Alan psycically? Not explained.
But these flaws are far from fatal. They can be easily ignored, in favor of the immense enjoyment factor of the movie as a whole. Spooky, suspenseful, and frequently touching, it's a great "popcorn" movie. Bravo, George!

I just finished watching Monkey Shines with my Mother and my Nephew and I must say we were very entertained. The character Ella the monkey was off the chain!!!! We were scared at the things Ella did in the movie!!! I would recommend that this movie be purchased and part of everyone's collection of horror movies. I really enjoyed watching this movie.

The story is not only scary but has both science fiction and human drama. I think the good acting helps the film not to appear silly as the idea of laboratory experiments on animals cause human to mentally connect to the experimental animals is silly.

Since murder and violence are part of the film, this is not something you can relax with or feel warm afterwards... I still think as a scary science fiction it is well made in terms of story telling, sound and photography effect, and acting.

I am not personally into scary movies because lots of unhappy people appear in them, but I am okay with this one.

This is one of those unknown movies that you will be pleasantly (due to its quality, not its theme!) surprised by.

The director does not resort to gore or silly tricks (no sudden pigeons, no cats being thrown into frame) to create a truly disturbing and frightening atmosphere, as he gradually shows the protagonist becoming more and more absorbed by his "problem"...

This Film has never looked better!This is what DVD does Best. Great transfer of this very effective film. This George A.Romero film deserves to be seen and added to suspense film collections. Kraig

I shoulda reviewed this like 2 weeks ago when I actually saw this film, so many of the details are getting a little fuzzy. Still, the pertinent information remains, but I'll have to keep it short.

'Monkey Shines' is one of the least popular titles in Romero's filmography. It's certainly not one of his best, but when it gets going it's just obscenely fun and eccentric. Problem is, the film isn't going all the time. This movie is based on a high concept idea: 'Paralyzed man does battle with murderous helper monkey' This is a wacky, amusing idea, and the scenes involving this scenario are... wacky and amusing. But, this is only about the final 30 minutes of the film. That's the big problem with this movie: too much padding, and too many subplots. Hell, the monkey doesn't even kill anyone until an hour into the film. Now I, being the easily amused sort, was always reasonably entertained throughout the film, but the fact is that it really does meander about a lot. There are a number of subplots that go absolutely nowhere, specifically the one about the conflict between the main character's chemist friend and his department head, and the one about the strained relationship between him and his mother. That and the setup of the main plot is a bit too prolonged.

Again, however, once it gets going it's a total hoot. Despite the fact that I generally find monkey's to be ugly, repulsive creatures, Ella is quite adorable, in her way. She's kinda ugly, but her whole anthropomorphic manner is just great. Now, it's nice to see an adorable little monkey scampering about and being friendly, but it's totally great too see a tiny monkey plot vengeance and death via it's beastly cunning and various monkeyous machinations. Of course, this stuff isn't scary or even suspesnseful: The idea of a tiny killer monkey is just too silly. But, it works in it's own way. Also, the film comes to a totally delicious and brilliant climax, which is followed shortly by a spectacularly awesome 'mandatory tacked on scare'. I won't give away any specifics, it'll hurt the film too much. But trust me, it's awesome.

Entertaining stuff. The end.

Grade: B-

Ella is an extraordinary little monkey! She's so smart and helpful around the house! Allan Mann (Jason Beghe) wouldn't know what to do without her. After Allan's accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, his girlfriend dumped him and ran off with the same doctor who botched Allan's surgery! Allan gave up on life at that point. Luckily, his best friend Geoffery (John Pankow) had an extra monkey (#6) in his genetics lab. He took her to a trainer and she learned quickly how to assist Allan and keep him company. Geoffery should have told Allan that the monkey, now renamed Ella, had been the subject of his brain-boosting experiments, and that she'd been injected several times with human brain serum. Oopsy! Ella and Allan get very attached to each other, seeming to have a near psychic bond. All is well until Allan's internal rage somehow jumps into Ella's tiny simian brain! She begins hurting those who have wronged her master, to the point of becoming Allan's little furry assassin! No one is safe as Ella unleashes her (Allan's) vengence! George A. Romero (Night / Dawn / Day Of The Dead, The Crazies, etc.) has always been good at scaring people. MONKEY SHINES is an interesting tale of obsession, hate, and the consequences of both. The ending is a tad silly, but the rest of the story is top-notch! Worth owning...