Monkey Shines (1988)

 

Genre: Horror/ Drama

Time: 1h 53mins

Director: George A. Romero

Quick Summary: A quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.

Okay, this monkey is actually adorable. 

Ella is a Capuchin monkey, naturally intelligent, and her intelligence has been boosted by injections of human brain tissue, administered by our main character’s friend the druggie chemist after he is involved in a horrible accident that leaves him paralysed. 

Right from the first, there’s a special rapport between the man and the monkey. Ella seems to understand Allan (the main guy), to love him, and even sometimes be able to anticipate his needs. She is so sweet, running around doing little tasks for him for treats, cuddles and dancing around to music. 

I wouldn't really call this a horror movie as it's gore free maybe has the occasional monkey jumpscare, or an event that is implied might be too scary. Unless you are absolutely terrified of monkeys, it's not a scary film. I found the climax to be really good, as Allan struggles against his disability to finally get himself out of the house away from the terrorising monkey. Something that happens right at the end fully shocked me. With the build-up of our love towards Ella and Allan's dynamic, it feels very upsetting to see it. Though what happens and how it happens, is fully justified. 

Sadly I found this incredibly slow and boring. Scenes feel repetitive and just seem to not really do anything but show how cute Ella the monkey is. This is a film with a great idea behind it, only let down by the long running time and slow pace which frequently mean scenes verge on boredom. I would call it an interesting curiosity piece, but not one to go out of your way to see and not one you would want to watch again unless you were showing someone. 

It feels too tame, to me so much could of been done with this. It's a nice first half that shows the development of their relationship, but once you get past that you're just waiting for something to happen. It semi-redeems itself with the climax, but not by much.

4/10