George A. Romero's first big studio film (from Orion Pictures), shows a more restrained direction from the man who brought us such horror cult movies as "Night of the Living Dead" ('68) or "Day of the Dead" ('85), "Monkey Shines", based on the novel by Michael Stewart, is an atmospheric suspense / thriller flick, intriguing & captivating to follow, creatively directed & photographed with some interesting camera angles and well-staged scenes giving a sense of eerie and paranoia.
Jason Beghe (who looked a lot like Ed Harris) stars as Allan Mann, a handsome and healthy young athlete that becomes paralyzed after an accident, losing in the process his girlfriend Linda (Janine Turner) who can't handle Allan's new special condition. After a failed attempt to commit suicide, Allan is convinced by his best friend, Geoffrey (John Pankow), an unorthodox scientist, to adopt a monkey, named Ella, as a helper. This newly-acquired relationship gives Allan a new hope in life, both sharing everything together and facilitating his day-to-day, but soon their interaction will take an unexpected sinister turn...
Beghe and Pankow are both good (especially Pankow who looks and acts like he was sleepless for the entire shoot), but all the glory goes to the little monkey Boo playing Ella with special kudos for his personal trainer and the camera tricks & movie magic techniques which turned the innocent and cute animal into a vicious stalker turned sadistic killer on-screen. His close-ups and interaction with the human actors are amazing and a must-see.
Lower points are that the studio toned down the violence and cut some sub-plots' resolutions, trimming the picture in the cutting room floor and some scenes doesn't even make sense (suddenly the action jumps from Allan's home to a farm miles away without explanation).
Romero's fans felt disappointed when this movie came out, because of the lack of horror, gore and violence, but it shows another side of the Master of Horror, that he can handle storytelling and delivered a picture, that besides its flaws, denotes a deep respect for the quadriplegic (the sex scene between Allan and Melanie Parker, Ella's trainer, was meaningful and poignant) and at the same time, keeps the viewer glued to the screen involved in this unsettling, spine-chilling & nightmarish tale of a disturbed attraction...
Jason Beghe (who looked a lot like Ed Harris) stars as Allan Mann, a handsome and healthy young athlete that becomes paralyzed after an accident, losing in the process his girlfriend Linda (Janine Turner) who can't handle Allan's new special condition. After a failed attempt to commit suicide, Allan is convinced by his best friend, Geoffrey (John Pankow), an unorthodox scientist, to adopt a monkey, named Ella, as a helper. This newly-acquired relationship gives Allan a new hope in life, both sharing everything together and facilitating his day-to-day, but soon their interaction will take an unexpected sinister turn...
Beghe and Pankow are both good (especially Pankow who looks and acts like he was sleepless for the entire shoot), but all the glory goes to the little monkey Boo playing Ella with special kudos for his personal trainer and the camera tricks & movie magic techniques which turned the innocent and cute animal into a vicious stalker turned sadistic killer on-screen. His close-ups and interaction with the human actors are amazing and a must-see.
Lower points are that the studio toned down the violence and cut some sub-plots' resolutions, trimming the picture in the cutting room floor and some scenes doesn't even make sense (suddenly the action jumps from Allan's home to a farm miles away without explanation).
Romero's fans felt disappointed when this movie came out, because of the lack of horror, gore and violence, but it shows another side of the Master of Horror, that he can handle storytelling and delivered a picture, that besides its flaws, denotes a deep respect for the quadriplegic (the sex scene between Allan and Melanie Parker, Ella's trainer, was meaningful and poignant) and at the same time, keeps the viewer glued to the screen involved in this unsettling, spine-chilling & nightmarish tale of a disturbed attraction...