RunAwayFromGooby

As I mentioned in the mini-ep thread, I interviewed director George Romero a few years ago for a blog. He didn't seem overly impressed with his own work on Monkey Shines: Q: Are audiences tougher to scare these days? A: I haven’t tried to scare anybody since (Night of the Living Dead). To me, since then, all my films have been like comic books. I haven’t tried to get under your skin at all... Q: That’s interesting. I remember being particularly scared by a film of yours, when I was young, called Monkey Shines. A: Monkey Shines? How young were you? Q: About eight years old. A: OK, that might do it then. I guess it had a few scares in it. If you’re at an age where the concept is frightening to you, it works on that level. With that film, I thought it was more a Jeckyll and Hyde story. Maybe I’m too jaded.

I saw Monkey Shines when I was around 7 or 8 and found it really disturbing. Many years later I got the chance to interview George Romero, and when I mentioned this to him he seemed surprised. I think he felt he'd intentionally made it a comedy. In his words "I guess it had a few scares in it." I have the feeling if I watch it now I'll feel a little bit embarrassed for my pre-teen self.

Did watching Gooby freak you out? Imagine realizing 45 minutes in that they fucking filmed it in your hometown. The scene where Gooby and Willy go to the movies was shot in what was, for many years, the only theater in Barrie, Ontario, where I saw many of my favourite movies for the first time. The fat bully empties his bladder all over the floor where I stood countless times to buy snacks. This movie literally pissed on my childhood memories.