Review of Monkey Shines (1988) by Marcus W — 07 May 2010

Let's face it, Romero may be known as the "zombie maestro" but he hasn't made a decent one of those since Dawn. And yet this film proves he has talent as a director of quality horror, without a zombie in sight.

It's no big challenge to make a scary movie around a paraplegic, and that feeling of utter helplessness, but chuck in a genetically altered evil monkey and suddenly you're right there with him. The pacing is a delight, and there's plenty of philosophy, psychology, and a perfectly subtle use of gore. This is a wonderful little horror movie, even if I would have preferred a genetically altered evil cat.