Monkey Shines

A QUADRIPLEGIC GUY FIGHTS A MONKEY.

REAR WINDOW meets THE FLY meets FATAL ATTRACTION: when a man's life goes horribly wrong, he gets a new (monkey) girlfriend, who at first seems great until it becomes clear she's a psycho stalker/killer type. Even so, with her help he succeeds in ridding himself of all those he has come to despise including his mother and his ex, enabling him to in turn eliminate her (the monkey) in favour of a third girlfriend. In short, studio interference turned this from being about male fear to male fantasy.

The only thing keeping a couple of scenes from running the film off the rails r Romero's chops& his penchant 4 raising genre by using it 2 explore facets of human nature while keeping the suspense. This time around it's man's primal nature & the symbiotic connection betwn master & pet & although the film has one 2 many over-the-top moments (esp. the harridan caretakers the protagonist gets stuck w/) he uses these odd materials 2 continue probing his themes in surprising yet meaningful directions

There is but one scene in this film and it is a grown man naked in a swing over a bathtub calling out to his mother as she leaves to get the phone demanding that she tell his girlfriend that the monkey is back. If you need more than that...

Before I saw this movie, I thought, this is a scary movie plot?: Have a trained helper monkey wail on a disabled guy. What could a quadriplegic possibly use to fend off a monkey? Say the monkey was chewing his fingers off? He could blow on him, spit maybe? Try to out run it? That'll show that little bugger! But, alas. Also, that monkey never once washed his hands, but still fed him...that's gross. Still, hilarious. He called that monkey "fuckface"! Then "slime", after she peed on him. Awesome!

Really slow for the most part. The monkey was pretty damn funny though.

spank that monkey, spank that monkey now

I love cheesy 80's flicks, and perhaps for this reason I find Monkey Shines to be horribly under-rated. This movie shouldn't be taken seriously, and I don't think it was intended to be. It's like Gordon's Re-Animator with hilarious over-the-top melodrama. I mean, name another movie with a love rectangle between quadriplegic dude, his overbearing mother, blonde scientist and genetically modified helper monkey? In my books, that's a fucking great idea for the movie.

Not So Good Entry In The Monkey Caretaker Genre

A bitchin' raped ape of a movie.

This is quite entertaining, but at times unintentionally (I believe) veers toward horror comedy. Still, when it's unintentionally funny it does it in a way where you want to laugh with it more than at it, and it's a pretty unusual film that works pretty well. Fun.

MONKEY SHINEESS!!!

62.1.

Its super silly, but there is something kind of creepy about a man who cannot move having to fend off a demon monkey.

Romero's often missunderstood creation, we are given a rebirth of the Frankenstein horror along with the fear of the inability to strike back. Suspenseful the brutal ending often critizied for being too powerful. This film would send any PETA member screaming away and I highly recommend it.

Food, fun and a monkey!

Dopey psychological thrilller about primal rage and fear. Shares similar problems with Martin in that it is neither an effective genre or character piece because it's too slow, lacks real suspense and features characters with crude psychology. Romero does inject black humour into the proceedings, which works in some scenes, and the pace improves somewhat in the final act. However, Beghe's erratic performance is a consistent sore point that detracts from the credibility of the overall attempt.

I lost interest when the monkey became psychic or something.

This one goes out to everybody that didn't laugh at Land of the Dead

One of the greatest "quiet" horror films ever made. I know I'm in the minority on this, but what is Criticker for

t has a killer monkey! So sure is lots of fun. It does drag a bit in the middle. Plus Jason Beghe gives one of the worst portrayals of being angry ever.

55.500

I've never been a fan of the killer-animal subgenre, but of course Romero makes it work wonderfully. It's quite a slow burn, and the last act is all the more effective because of the lengths the movie goes to earlier to make you love this monkey and truly believe the bond between her and her quadriplegic owner. Enjoyed this much more than I expected to.

An horror movie from the eighties that was not so over the top. Actually tried to be suspenseful, which it was alright at. I figured this to be a bit better with George Romero at the helm, but from what I understand, the studio butchered it. No surprise there.

I actually kind of liked it. The premise is sort of scary (mostly because the guy can't move at all so he is helpless). It's also ridiculous enough to generate a lot of laughs.

Seems to be precisely what Kael was referring to in her attack on the auteur theory in CIRCLES AND SQUARES. It's solid meat-and-potatoes Sunday afternoon fare, livened up (but not by much) through Romero's dry black humor, particularly when it comes to the climactic battle. Don't let the auteurists get you though! It's just a painless way to kill two hours.

Pray for Mojo.

Ella Play of the Game.

Que belezinha, a macaquinha parece a minha gatinha, a Demonha. Rá! Deve ser muito humilhante para os atores saber que a macaquinha era o melhor ator do filme. Na Darkflix TV.

Passes the time.

You only need to watch the first 30 second of this film if you want complete enlightenment.

55.500

This is actually a pretty solid thriller. My issue is, what does the cover have to do with the film?? At no point in the film is there a mechanical monkey of any sort. Was the marketing trying to sucker Stephen King fans who might think that this was based off of the short story in Skeleton Crew?

what the fuck did i just watch...

Low on the horror and gore but still entertaining. Wish the monkey did a lot more murdering though.

There are moments when one is convinced it's a great movie, but there are also those other moments that prove the contrary. The most interesting Romero, beside the living dead trilogy, I've seen so far.

A compelling thriller from start to finish.

Effective if slow-moving horror film, it's also got a sneaky little Frankenstein-via-Darwin theme going on - the monkey as Man rebelling against his maker.

Stupid premise makes a stupid movie.

I hate monkeys.