Link

A zoology student (Elisabeth Shue) must try to out smart a murderous and super-intelligent orangutan.

The 1980s were a strong decade for monkey-themed horror. Not only did we get Argento's "Phenomena", but one of George Romero's better films, "Monkeyshines". This one has probably fallen through the cracks, despite coming from director Richard Franklin ("Psycho II") and starring a pre-babysitting Shue and the wonderful Terence Stamp.

The film also raises some great ethical and philosophical questions about how primates should be treated. Are murderous monkeys responsible for their behavior? And is the professor in this film a hero of science or a villain who mistreats his experiments?

College student, Jane Chase (Elisabeth Shue) gets what should be a dream job as assistant to her primatology professor, Dr. Phillips (Terrence Stamp). All she has to do is move into Phillips' remote castle, and help him with his ape experiments. Jane is amazed by the two chimpanzees named Imp and Voodoo, but is really intrigued by the orangutan "butler" named LINK. Everything goes smoothly, right up until Dr. Phillips goes missing, leaving Jane at the mercy of an increasingly menacing Link!

Any other human visitors are dealt with rather savagely, and the injuries and deaths begin to mount.

Ms. Shue's character is charming, and even manages to be firm with Link when necessary. Stamp is superb as always, though his role is more of an extended cameo. This is a superior "animals run amok" movie, with some actual terror generated by the simians involved. Link (Locke the Orangutan) himself is quite convincing in his intimidating role! An unexpected treat...

A young Elizabeth Shue plays Jane Chase,an American student studying at the London Institute of Sciences,who accepts a holiday job as housekeeper for anthropology professor Steven Philip at his house on the remote Cornish coast.Steven has three trained chimpanzees named Link,Voodoo and Imp.When professor mysteriously vanishes Jane is left alone in the house with Link whose behaviour has become increasingly more menacing."Link" is a surprisingly effective killer ape flick.It offers some great shocks and the monkey Link looks very sinister.The score by Jerry Goldsmith is splendid.Unfortunately the explanation of Link's murderous behaviour is not particularly clear.Director Richard Franklin has also made "Patrick","Road Games" and "Psycho II".8 out of 10.

Richard Franklin is a self-proclaimed Hitchcock fan (he made "Psycho II", after all), and you've got to hand it to him, "Link" is more artfully directed than the average mid-80s horror film, with some nice camera movements and some even nicer transition shots. It moves slowly, though, and some characters seem to be introduced only to pump up the body count. Elizabeth Shue, in only her second role, is admirable in the way she holds her own against the naturally scene-stealing chimpanzees. (**1/2)

This movie started off very well, and I was beginning to think that I had stumbled across a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, things weren't nearly as interesting in the second half, and so I can't quite recommend this one. The best scenes are when the chimps are displaying their remarkable talents. In fact, the pleasure of watching the chimpanzees is almost enough to make up for the otherwise mediocre story. The novelty does wear off, though, and the film suffers badly as a result. Shue and Stamp are both effective, but the script simply runs out of steam in the second half. Watch only if you love chimps.