Once there was a man,
Whose prison was a chair,
The man had a monkey,
They made the strangest pair,
The monkey loved the man,
Climbed inside his head,
And now as fate would have it,
One of them is dead.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Solid work from George Romero
Added 5/12/2009
Monkey Shines...It isn't George Romero's best work, that's for sure. That being said, the movie isn't nearly as bad as some would have you believing. Unlike his "living dead' series, Monkey Shines aims more to shock the viewer on a psychological level. While the results are certainly up for debate, there's no denying that this movie has a very unique concept.
Allen is a law student in the prime of his life when an unfortunate accident renders him a wheelchair bound quadriplegic. Meanwhile his scientist/junkie friend Jeffrey has been experimenting with injecting monkeys with human genetic material. As luck would have it, he comes across an organization that trains monkeys to help the handicapped, and with Allen in mind, he donates his star student "Ella". When Ella is given to Allen, the two hit it off almost immediately.
However, all is not well otherwise with Allen. Since becoming a quadriplegic Allen's girlfriend has left him for his doctor, he has become physically dependent on his mean-spirited nurse, and has become overcome with frustration in general about his new way of life. Amazingly, Allen's rage seems to have created a connection with the human material inside of Ella, a sort of telepathic bond that causes Ella to act out on Allen's deep rooted anger. Allen must then learn to control his rage, in turn controlling Ella.
The problem here is that the story simply takes too long to get rolling. Monkey Shines is on the brink of two hours long, and truthfully it could have gotten its point across in 80-90 minutes. Common complaints about this movie include a number of subplots that never pan out, and the over-the-top ending. While I won't disagree about the ending, the subplots are actually quite minimal, and they comprise maybe a few minutes of the movie collectively. I thought the sublots shed a little more light on the characters, particularly Jeffrey and Allen's mother. The monkey training used in the movie is excellent too, maybe even too good since Ella outshines any of the other actors involved...
The bad? Considering that the movie is almost completely free of any blood or gore, the inclusion of Tom Savini on special effects really left me scratching my head. That's a bit of a wasted effort to say the least, seeing his name in the opening credits kind of gets you excited for nothing. Also I remember a VHS edition of this movie that used the movie poster (which was pretty awesome) for the cover art. I hate it when DVD's and late edition VHS' tapes don't use the original cover art, Monkey Shines being a prime example. Instead you get some blurred out picture of a capuchin monkey on the cover. Overall Monkey Shines isn't bad at all. As mentioned, it's hardly Romero's best work, but certainly worth a look for people that enjoy his movies or horror/thriller movies in general.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Interesting premise mangled horribly
Added 1/31/2009
The first half hour of this movie is actually very promising. It lays the groundwork for an interesting psychological thriller based on the impotence and rage a male quadraplegic feels. It also accurately addresses a lot of the feelings and anxieties that are common to individuals facing this degree of disability. If it had stayed that way and developed from there on a psychological note, it probably would have been pretty decent, barring the fact Romero can't write dialogue that well.
Instead, the story turns into Z-grade sci-fi and includes telepathy, lab experiments gone awry, long scenes of explanatory dialogue and an overtly ridiculous ending. What makes it worse is that it is incredibly boring and paced terribly with plenty of plot discursions that never go anywhere. I had to hit the fast forward button several times.
It also fails miserably as a horror movie (which is shocking seeing as this was directed by Romero). There are virtually no death sequences, and they're bloodless. This movie should be rated PG or PG-13, at the worst.
The biggest horror movie failure is the monkey. Whose idea was it to use a capuchin monkey as a villain? The things are absolutely adorable. It doesn't even have superpowers or anything. It's an ordinary monkey. It's really just not one of those things that inspires fear. Maybe they can make a kitten the big bad in the sequel.
I found myself laughing uncontrollably throughout most of the last half hour of the movie. It has plot holes that you could sail the Titanic through. The climax is honestly one of the stupidest things I've ever seen on film. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it.
Absolutely not recommended, unless you want clips related to quadraplegia from the first half hour. That's the only reason I gave it the two stars - in the half hour or so before the movie goes mind-numbingly stupid, it makes some nice visual points regarding disability.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Genius Romero momentarily evolves into a primitive Hollywood monkey
Added 11/15/2008
Sorry George, I love ya, but what happened? Monkey Shines has an incredibly intelligent and unique premise. After a debilitating accident left him paralyzed, Allan Mann is introduced to Ella, a highly intelligent monkey. This animal has specialized training to help him adjust and cope with this drastic change in his lifestyle. It's a match made in heaven, Ella's skills and comprehensive abilities are extraordinary. But there is more to the story, of course. Ella has been injected with a special scientific formula, and the pair have unknowingly become part of an experiment. In the process they form an eerie bond, a possible telepathic link. Ella starts anticipating Allan's thoughts and acting out his subconscious desires. This soon turns violent, and the results are pretty frightening. The suspense builds steadily and provides some interesting subplots. Unfortunately though it gets a little too far-fetched and ridiculous. When this cute little monkey goes on a killing rampage, I couldn't help but shake my head. It made me wonder how a younger Romero might have handled the climax, possibly toned it down some. Maybe current audiences aren't much for subtlety, but I think this could have been one of the greats. Oh well, still not bad. 3.5 stars.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Man's Best Friend Is A Dog; His Worst Enemy Is A Genetically Altered Monkey
Added 11/15/2008
Hard to believe that the man who directed zombie horror fests such as "Night of the Living Dead," "Dawn of the Dead," and "Day of the Dead" would bring us "Monkey Shines" - a tense, psychological horror masterpiece involving a genetically altered lab monkey that becomes psychotic. The real star of this gem is Boo who plays Ella. A nerdy researcher with delusions of grandeur keeps injecting poor Ella with memory cells from a human brain. He then gives her to his best friend who has recently become a quadriplegic. They become co-dependent to the max. Soon the two become psychically linked. As Ella becomes more intelligent, she also becomes more violent. Soon she becomes the arms and legs for her owner and carries out his desire for vengeance against those who have harmed him.
The acting is superb. Jason Beghe ("One Missed Call") gives an excellent performance as the handsome, athletic law student who become angry and bitter because of his crippling accident. Beautiful Kate McNeil ("The Last House on Sorority Row") is very convincing as the energetic, robust trainer of monkeys for the handicapped. Together, Beghe and McNeil are a cute couple; their love scene is very sensual, proving that the handicapped can do most anything. A young Stanley Tucci ("Maid in Manhattan" and "The Devil Wears Prada") is a despicable neurosurgeon; who would've believed how handsome (and muscular) he was when he had hair.
The gore is kept to a minimum. "Monkey Shines" relies heavily on character development and a suspenseful, clever plot in which science has created a literal monster. A quadriplegic becomes trapped within his home by a diabolical beast. "Monkey Shines" is intelligent, well crafted science fiction horror with strong elements of romance and the supernatural. The theme of anger becoming a physical manifestation is also prevalent in David Cronenberg's psychological masterpiece, "The Brood"; it stars Samantha Eggar whose anger is physically manifested into killer dwarfs.
I enjoyed "Monkey Shines" much more than George Romero's zombie films. If you enjoy films about pets turning against their owners, then you may also want to watch "Cujo" or "Man's Best Friend." There are many films involving genetically altered lower life forms such as bees, wasps, bats, etc., but none of them are as sophisticated or psychologically horrifying as "Monkey Shines." Boo really shines in her performance as the homicidal monkey, Ella.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Once there was a man,
Whose prison was a chair,
The man had a monkey,
They made the strangest pair,
The monkey loved the man,
Climbed inside his head,
And now as fate would have it,
One of them is dead.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Solid work from George Romero
Added 5/12/2009
Monkey Shines...It isn't George Romero's best work, that's for sure. That being said, the movie isn't nearly as bad as some would have you believing. Unlike his "living dead' series, Monkey Shines aims more to shock the viewer on a psychological level. While the results are certainly up for debate, there's no denying that this movie has a very unique concept.
Allen is a law student in the prime of his life when an unfortunate accident renders him a wheelchair bound quadriplegic. Meanwhile his scientist/junkie friend Jeffrey has been experimenting with injecting monkeys with human genetic material. As luck would have it, he comes across an organization that trains monkeys to help the handicapped, and with Allen in mind, he donates his star student "Ella". When Ella is given to Allen, the two hit it off almost immediately.
However, all is not well otherwise with Allen. Since becoming a quadriplegic Allen's girlfriend has left him for his doctor, he has become physically dependent on his mean-spirited nurse, and has become overcome with frustration in general about his new way of life. Amazingly, Allen's rage seems to have created a connection with the human material inside of Ella, a sort of telepathic bond that causes Ella to act out on Allen's deep rooted anger. Allen must then learn to control his rage, in turn controlling Ella.
The problem here is that the story simply takes too long to get rolling. Monkey Shines is on the brink of two hours long, and truthfully it could have gotten its point across in 80-90 minutes. Common complaints about this movie include a number of subplots that never pan out, and the over-the-top ending. While I won't disagree about the ending, the subplots are actually quite minimal, and they comprise maybe a few minutes of the movie collectively. I thought the sublots shed a little more light on the characters, particularly Jeffrey and Allen's mother. The monkey training used in the movie is excellent too, maybe even too good since Ella outshines any of the other actors involved...
The bad? Considering that the movie is almost completely free of any blood or gore, the inclusion of Tom Savini on special effects really left me scratching my head. That's a bit of a wasted effort to say the least, seeing his name in the opening credits kind of gets you excited for nothing. Also I remember a VHS edition of this movie that used the movie poster (which was pretty awesome) for the cover art. I hate it when DVD's and late edition VHS' tapes don't use the original cover art, Monkey Shines being a prime example. Instead you get some blurred out picture of a capuchin monkey on the cover. Overall Monkey Shines isn't bad at all. As mentioned, it's hardly Romero's best work, but certainly worth a look for people that enjoy his movies or horror/thriller movies in general.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Interesting premise mangled horribly
Added 1/31/2009
The first half hour of this movie is actually very promising. It lays the groundwork for an interesting psychological thriller based on the impotence and rage a male quadraplegic feels. It also accurately addresses a lot of the feelings and anxieties that are common to individuals facing this degree of disability. If it had stayed that way and developed from there on a psychological note, it probably would have been pretty decent, barring the fact Romero can't write dialogue that well.
Instead, the story turns into Z-grade sci-fi and includes telepathy, lab experiments gone awry, long scenes of explanatory dialogue and an overtly ridiculous ending. What makes it worse is that it is incredibly boring and paced terribly with plenty of plot discursions that never go anywhere. I had to hit the fast forward button several times.
It also fails miserably as a horror movie (which is shocking seeing as this was directed by Romero). There are virtually no death sequences, and they're bloodless. This movie should be rated PG or PG-13, at the worst.
The biggest horror movie failure is the monkey. Whose idea was it to use a capuchin monkey as a villain? The things are absolutely adorable. It doesn't even have superpowers or anything. It's an ordinary monkey. It's really just not one of those things that inspires fear. Maybe they can make a kitten the big bad in the sequel.
I found myself laughing uncontrollably throughout most of the last half hour of the movie. It has plot holes that you could sail the Titanic through. The climax is honestly one of the stupidest things I've ever seen on film. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it.
Absolutely not recommended, unless you want clips related to quadraplegia from the first half hour. That's the only reason I gave it the two stars - in the half hour or so before the movie goes mind-numbingly stupid, it makes some nice visual points regarding disability.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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