Rish's Reviews
When I first saw this, years ago, two things stuck with me. One: I wondered if a man could really live a full lifespan by never sleeping. And two: the quadrapelegic sex scene.
At the recent Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, when I spoke to George Romero, all I could think to talk to him about was Monkey Shines.
When Alan (Jason Beghe) is paralysed, his life goes down the crapper. His mother practically smothers him trying to help him, his girlfriend leaves him, and he wants to die. But his best friend gets an idea: bring over a trained monkey to help him around the house, both as a pair of hands and a friend for Alan. Unfortunately, this particular monkey has been injected with intelligence-slash-violence increasing chemicals. But nothing could go wrong, could it?
Stanley Tucci has a small role as a surgeon. Kate McNeil plays the monkey trainer and love interest (to Alan, not the monkeys). John Pankow, who I like, plays our hero's best friend, a monkey scientist who takes injections so he doesn't have to sleep. He says that even if he dies at fifty, he's still lived the equivalent of sixty five years. This fascinating idea has stuck with me for a dozen years.
The film is slow-going, but interesting enough that I don't mind. After fifty minutes, the film was not Horror (it featured decidedly non-horrific music--very melodramatic Seventies TV Drama-type, in fact--but it did have nudity in the first five minutes). I was getting worried, but luckily, it became very suspenseful, and the body count began to rise once the monkey is crossed. The credits boast Tom Savini makeup, but there's no gore. Maybe they used a lot of fake monkeys, I don't know.
Ella the Monkey is actually scary. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that simians are human-like, the way they move and look, they remind us of ourselves. Or maybe it's the pointy teeth. In any case, Ella is made even more frightening by the fact that she's super intelligent and crafty (for example, in one scene, she chews through the telephone wires, preventing Alan from calling for help). Poor Alan reminds me of myself, except that he is paralysed from the neck down.
What the hell does "monkey shines" mean? I've heard the term before, but I honestly have no idea. Tyranist? [tyranist: No help for you here.]
Line To Remember: "Oh my god, Martha, his ass is even hairier than yours!"