The "Monkey Shines"/Stephen King Connection

[HeyHeyItsTheQuartette 5]

I know that I'm tardy to the party, but Paul was talking about a connection between Stephen King and the movie "Monkey Shines." I definitely thought that there was a connection between Stephen King and "Monkey Shines" when I saw the movie, but I couldn't figure out what it was. In the mini-episode, someone theorizes about the connection being like "The Shining" (the man and the monkey have a telepathic link, just like Danny and Dick in "The Shining").

 

I think that the actual connection between "Monkey Shines" and Stephen King is completely unintentional and is buried in the viewer's subconscious.

 

The connection is the movie poster.

 

The movie poster for "Monkey Shines" (seen here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f7/Monkey_shines.jpg) features a creepy-looking toy monkey. The cover of Stephen King's short story collection, "Skeleton Crew" (seen here: http://charnelhouse.tripod.com/skelton1.jpg), also features a creepy-looking toy monkey.

 

One of the stories in "Skeleton Crew" is about an evil toy monkey that kills living things (starting with flies and working its way up to humans) every time its cymbals bang.

 

My theory here is that Paul probably saw the cover for "Skeleton Crew" at some point, and was then subconsciously reminded of it when he saw the movie poster for "Monkey Shines" (because this exact thing happened to me). I don't know if whoever designed the poster intended for it to look like the cover of "Skeleton Crew" ("Skeleton Crew" was published in 1985, three years before "Monkey Shines" was released), but the two look very much alike, if not identical.

[nrkist 71]

Monkey Shines 1988. Skeleton Crew 1985. I don't get the joke. The 'connection' is that it is a straight adaption with some weirdness atop.

 

I keep reading this, as if there is a joke I am missing somewhere in there...

 

BTW Maximum Overdrive!

 

Your theory is that Paul once saw a poster for a BOOK, and 'misremembered' it as preceding the FILM (though it did indeed precede the film), based off the novella in said terrible book.

 

You are misremembering events...

 

It's one of the first terrible King adaptions. Sure, there are lots of them, but this one predates pretty much all. I don't get your point, or your sarcasm if it's intended. Your Monkey Sharcasm is real bare bones...

 

Like...I get it's a joke...

 

For instance: The other night my DVR messed up and my girlfriend recorded 'About a Boy' with the vision-impaired thing turned on. It was hilarious. More hilarious than 'About a Girl' has a right to be:

 

"He is now wiping away 'The Principal Sucks' from the bathroom wall. He writes in 'The Principal Rocks' with a smirk."

 

"<scene setting> He is holding cereal <plus audio overdub> I'm holding cereal"

 

Like, these gags are hilarious when someone explains them?

[Madrigal Marco 22]

THAT'S what the Monkey Shines poster reminded me of! Good detective work there, Dodge.

[dask360 126]

Not sure what nrkist is talking about...and I don't think they realized the books Monkey Shines (1983) and Skeleton Crew (1985) have nothing to do with one another, but thank you What_Would_Dodge_Do?, I think you're 100% percent correct. Romero even said in the commentary he had no idea where that poster came from (and hated it) but I wonder if the "real" King connection is just an existing Romero+King relationship, having worked together before and after (Romero had to pass on directing Pet Semetary to do Shines reshoots, but they had worked on Creepshow together and were friends). And like you said, this unconscious presumed connection...and that damn cymbal monkey toy.