Link Means Serious Monkey Business: An 80’s Horror Film Reviewed

Sometimes the best thing you can do is go into a movie with no expectations. That was the case with Link, and it’s been a pleasant surprise. When Jane Chase (Elisabeth Shue) gets a job assisting Professor Philip (Terence Stamp) over the holidays, she thinks it’s going to be a career opportunity. Professor Philip studies monkeys and, when Jane arrives, his oldest chimp, Link, answers the door.

You always hear about babies and animals being difficult to work with on a film set. It’s amazing, then, how much Link relies on its three, Simian stars to carry the picture with Shue. Beside Link (who’s actually played by an orangutan), Philip’s other subjects are Imp and Voodoo. Link’s expressions can be priceless but how much of that performance could director, Richard Franklin, count on in advance?

Jane’s arrival is the first change that unsettles the household but then Philip plans to sell Voodoo, and that doesn’t go over so well. From the beginning Philip and Jane disagree on how to discipline the monkeys. Jane insists kindness works but Philip believes it would be dangerous to let the monkeys feel like their equals. With all this talk about how strong monkeys are, it can make you wonder whether these monkeys should’ve been acting in the first place. Ray Berwick was the animal trainer, after working on films like The Birds and Gremlins. In the commentary track, film critic, Jarret Gahan talks about how one of the trainers went on, after Link, to refuse to work with the monkey who played Imp. An interview with Shue or Stamp on what it was like working with chimps would’ve been a valuable extra.

While you could argue it takes too long for Jane to realize she needs to make leaving that house a priority, screenwriter, Everett De Roche, doesn’t make it easy on her. Philip’s house is isolated, there’s no car and, thanks to Link and a microwave, no telephone either. What I love about Jane is that when she realizes something’s wrong, she doesn’t give anything away but keeps going like everything’s fine, so she can plan her escape. She’s crafty but so are the monkeys and it’s a stalemate most of the time.

The lack of interviews notwithstanding, Kino Lorber have given Link a top-notch release. Starting with the main menu, you’ve got a still shot instead of a rehash of the poster art. Jerry Goldsmith’s theme music, which is your first hint that Link isn’t your run-of-the-mill monkey movie. Goldsmith’s score for this movie is above and beyond – offbeat and unsettling. The rare example of menu music you don’t minding hearing on a loop.

Gahan and film historian, Lee Gambin, are responsible for the commentary and this is a fun listen. You know a ton of research went into it yet their delivery’s completely off the cuff and it’s never a competition over who’s going to speak. Some of the topics covered include the use of the POV shot, dissolves, technology, Jane’s switch to Nancy Drew mode, Link as protector versus tormentor, and his abusive relationship with Jane. They also bring up some deleted scenes which you can watch as another bonus feature and balance recommending films and analyzing Link perfectly. If we disagree on anything it’s maybe David (Steven Pinner), the guy Jane’s seeing, but he appears in one of the longer deleted scenes, as well.

Available now on Blu-Ray and DVD from Kino Lorber, Link doesn’t monkey around, and neither should you about giving this film a shot.