Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Monkey Shines Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 18, 2018

George Romero's "Monkey Shines" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; exclusive new audio commentary by critic and journalist Travis Crawford; archival audio commentary by George Romero; deleted scenes; vintage cast and crew interviews; and more. The release also arrives with a limited edition collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Craig Ian Mann, highlights from the film's production notes, and rare archival material. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Naughty monkey

George Romero's "Monkey Shines" was first released on Blu-ray by Scream Factory in the United States in 2014. For a detailed analysis of the film, please see Jeffrey Kauffman's review of this release here.

Monkey Shines Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, George Romero's Monkey Shines arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same older master that Scream Factory accessed when they prepared their North American release of Monkey Shines in 2014. It can best be described as a 'mixed bag'. Indeed, the visuals are stable and it is quite obvious that some efforts were made to ensure that the film looks clean. But this is essentially where all positives end because the film never really begins to look as vibrant and healthy as it should. On the contrary, the master provides it with a dated, quite soft and fuzzy appearance that most people will rightfully associate with the type of quality that was common during the DVD era. Some of the darker indoor footage in particular can be quite problematic, and on a larger screen all of the shortcomings of the master become impossible to ignore (see an example in screencapture #3). The grading is also underwhelming. The majority of the primaries are affected by a prominent pink-ish hue, while the supporting nuances routinely struggle and never look healthy and optimized. All in all, the master is average at best, so to look as good as it should the film really needs a brand new proper makeover. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Monkey Shines Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I decided to view the film with the 5.1 track and was not disappointed. I think that the mix was very carefully created to optimize dynamic intensity in all the right places, so David Shire's music, the monkey's noise and the random effects definitely create the right atmosphere. The dialog is also stable and clean. It is possible that the mid-range can be tweaked a bit to have a slightly fuller sound, but I already like the current mix a lot. It is nicely done.

Monkey Shines Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary One - in this archival commentary, George Romero explains how his love for Jekyll and Hyde inspired him to take on the project that will ultimately evolve into Monkey Shines, and discusses the funding of the film and the early casting choices that were made, Orion Pictures' involvement with the project, some of the locations near Pittsburgh that were selected for the film, the direction of the monkey, the different endings for the film that were shot, etc. The commentary is moderate by Stuart Feedback Andrews from Cinephobia Radio.

• Audio Commentary Two - in this new audio commentary, film historian and journalist Travis Crawford discusses in great detail the evolution of George Romero's film career, the director's relationship with Orion Pictures (a brief history of the company is provided as well), the production of Monkey Shines, the leads and their work, the nature of the relationships that are depicted in the film, some interesting trends that affected the horror genre during the '80s, etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Eureka Entertainment in 2018.

• An Experiment in Fear: The Making of Monkey Shines - this recent documentary examines the conception and production history of Monkey Shines as well as its style and atmosphere. Included in it are recent interviews with George Romero, executive producer Peter Grunwald, Kate McNeil, Jason Beghe, John Pankow, editor Pasquale Buba, special make-up effects creator Tom Savini, and make-up artists Greg Nicotero and Everett Burrell. The documentary was produced by Scream Factory and Red Shirt Pictures in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (50 min).

• Trailers and TV Spots - in English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Theatrical Trailer One. (2 min).
  2. Theatrical Trailer Two. (2 min).
  3. TV Spot. (1 min).

• Deleted Scenes - four short deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Alternate Ending - in English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Making of Featurette - this vintage featurette contains clips from interviews with director George Romero, actors Jason Beghe and John Pankow, producer Charles Evans, and actress Kate McNeil. The bulk of the comments address the origin of the story that inspired Monkey Shines and the production process. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Behind the Scenes Footage - presented here are clips with raw behind the scenes footage from the shooting of key sequences from the film.. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Archival Interviews and News Feature - presented here are clips from archival interviews with cast and crew members, as well as a vintage new feature. Some of the footage is also used in the making of featurette that is detailed above. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).
  
  1. George Romero
  2. Jason Behghe
  3. Kate McNeil
  4. John Pankow

• Booklet - a limited edition collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Craig Ian Mann, highlights from the film's production notes, and rare archival material. Available with first print run only.

Monkey Shines Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eureka Entertainment's new release of George Romero's Monkey Shines is sourced from the same older master that the folks at Scream Factory worked with when they prepared their release of the film for the U.S. market in 2014. It also retains all of the supplemental features that were on it, including the then-exclusive new documentary An Experiment in Fear: The Making of Monkey Shines, and adds a new and quite good audio commentary by Travis Crawford. I think that the supplemental features should determine whether you want this release in your collection because the current master has some obvious shortcomings that are not always easy to ignore.