Monkey Shines

As time goes by, it is easy to forget a lot of classic film releases from the 70´s and the 80´s. Some are almost impossible to find, since they might have been released on dvd years ago, but run out of copies. I know a lot of titles that should be worthy to release again, especially on region free blu rays. But there is still hope, and for that we must thank the home video company Shout Factory, who release old B movies again, especially with Scream Factory that is a part of the same company. For years they have found classics we almost forgot about, release them again on blu ray, or on dvd / blu ray combo releases, just for the audience to enjoy B film magic once again. I have purchased some of their releases, such as Motel Hell, Nightbreed and Without Warning. They all have some nice extra features included, with new interviews, behind the scenes, and you can´t help to feel that films like this deserves to be seen by a new audience. They are cult films that helped a lot of films become successfull, so Scream Factory is definetely worth respect for releasing so many old classics once more. Speaking of classics, who have not seen the 1968 cult classic Night Of The Living Dead ? If you ask horror fans, this is one film that you should have seen, because director George A. Romero was the pioneer of zombie films. Since he became a cult film maker, he continued the zombie genre with Dawn Of The Dead in 1978, a film that was praised by critics and also did very well at the box office. If you look at most films that George directed, he always stayed in the horror genre, for most of the time. Well, there is one proof where he tried to do something unusual. Have anyone of you seen Knightriders ? It is not the David Hasselhoff tv series, this is a very different film from Romero, a sort of motorcycle drama film. I would not say it is terrible, but it was definetely not one of Romero´s better films. He did try something different, and for that i would say he was brave. After Day Of The Dead became a box office failure, Romero took some time off from directing any films, until he was offered to direct a film called Monkey Shines. Based on the novel by Michael Stewart, it seemed as Romero was ready to do something different again, and still stay in the horror genre. It failed at the box office, but Fear Factory picked it up and gave it a new release on blu ray, with extra features. I have not seen this film for many years, before i found out it was released again, so i had to pick it up and write a review. Is this a fascinating different horror film that should have more respect from Romero fans, or is this one of his worst films of his career ?

Athlete Allan Mann ( Jason Beghe ) is hit by a truck while out running. He wakes up in hospital, to find out he is diagnosed with rendered quadriplegia, paralysed from his shoulders. Allan´s active life changes completely, and now he needs health care help every day. He moves back into his home, with a personal nurse, hired to work for him. His own mother Dorothy Mann ( Joyce Van Patten ), is worried about Allan, especially when he tries to kill himself. Allan´s friend Geoffrey Fisher ( John Pankow ) found him, before it was too late. Dorothy consider to stay, living with Allan to make sure this does not happen again, but the doctor suggest she should let his personal nurse look after him instead. Geoffrey works in a laboratory, where they do experiments on monkeys. He come up with an idea, that one of these monkeys can be trained to help Allan get help at home. Geoffrey travels out to a woman, Melanie Parker ( Kate McNeil ), who is a specialist in quadriplegia, training monkeys to help people living with this diagnose. Geoffrey suggest that Melanie could help his friend, but she does not have any monkeys avaible for Allan to have, so Geoffrey suggest he can give her one of the laboratory monkeys as a gift, if she train the monkey. Geoffrey choose Ella, who seems to be a great choice. Melanie and Geoffrey visit Allan to show him their gift, and Allan loves Ella, who seems to be able to help him with a lot of details. But the relatiosnhip between Allan and Ella is changing through time, and Allan is not sure if this was a good idea. What seemed like a harmless monkey, is suddenly becoming very disturbing.

If you are hoping from some influences of Romero´s classic films, you might be dissapointed. This is not one of his typical releases, and i think that is one reason why he choosed to direct this film. He wanted to do something else in the horror genre, both to challenge himself, but also see the reaction to the audience. We do know that the audience did not come to see Monkey Shines, when it was released in 1988. But i feel that it is good this film got to be released again, because it is not awful. In fact, there is an interesting story here to be told. Especially since the main character Allan is paralysed, and can only use his head. It is hard to imagine how it must be to adjust life, when you are used to do sport activities, have a job like everyone else, and one day everything changes. I would not call Monkey Shines a horror film for the most part, there are many dramatic scenes between Allan and his monkey Ella. Since this film came out in the end of the 80´s, technology for disabled people have improved, and you can tell by the permobil model that you could do more things on your own. Nowdays you can pretty much control Everything through computers, or other systems, depending on what disability you have. The idea of a reletionship between Allan and Ella, is a different perspective than most other films where animals are included. It is almost as Ella is obsessed with Allan, and that is what is the strength of Monkey Shines. The dramatic scenes feel a bit drawn out. I don´t mind that there is drama here, since some parts of the film do function ok. When Ella begin to show rage, you get the feeling that you can never take away the animal instict. This is where Monkey Shines becomes more interesting, showing the different sides of humanity and animal behavior. Even if you train a monkey, does not mean you can change the monkey completely to be more like a human. George A. Romero tried to make a very different film with Monkey Shines, and he manage to deliver something out of his ordinary catalogue. This is definetely not one of his better films, but i still see a film that stands on its own for trying a different path in health care issues. Is it right or wrong to let animals help patients ? I think we all have different opinions about this. This Scream Factory release on blu ray have some nice extra features for those who are interested, and if you are a fan of George A. Romero, it might be fun to see one of his films that did not find the way to a larger audience. Monkey Shines is a different film from this legendary director, and worth watching. One thing is sure, i am not having a monkey the day i get in a wheelchair, just give me a shotgun and a whiskey bottle, and i can welcome guests anytime, anywhere.

Rating: DDD