Link

R

1986

1h 43m

Horror

List

44%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

32%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A British scientist (Terence Stamp) and his helper (Elisabeth Shue) study trained chimps: Voodoo, Imp and the silent but deadly Link.

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Richard Franklin had optioned a short outline wof this film, which he said was "a sort of Jaws with chimps.," but it sat until writer Everett de Roche showed him a National Geographic article in which Jane Goodall discussed violence among chimpanzees, including "the cannibalizing of young chimpanzees by one particular mad female chimp. She observed actual inter-tribal warfare, not unlike the opening of 2001, between two groups of chimps. The whole '60s idea of man being the only animal to make war against its own kind was suddenly thrown out the window. Since then, they've discovered that lions and other animals do it as well, but that, to me, was a really interesting idea for a good thriller." As Franklin tried to get financing, he ended up making Psycho II and Cloak and Dagger, which gave him the ability to get this movie made. He compared it to The Birds, but then realize that people may think that he was basically making another Hitchcock sequel. While the movie was originally going to be released by Universal, Frankin said that the studio's "…instinct will probably be to release it this summer, which I really hope they don't do. It's not a Spielberg movie. It's quite different and, in a way, I wish Psycho II had been given the chance to make more money by playing fewer theatres for a longer period of time. Link is a very special thriller and should be treated accordingly." Then Cannon released it, chopping out eight minutes in the U.S. and five more in England, a process that Franklin said was When the film was horrifying with "each new one chipping a little more away until my wife was moved to liken the plight of my monkey movie to that of the horse in Black Beauty." Dr Steven Phillip (Terence Stamp) is an anthropologist trying to learn more about just how smart chimpanzees are and the link between man and ape by bringing three of them — Link, Imp and Voodoo — to his isolated estate in the English countryside. Jane Chase (Elisabeth Shue) is his assistant and she's instantly shocked by Link, a former circus chimpanzee who now serves as Phillip's butler, dressed in a perfect uniform. After the doctor disappears, Jane remains alone with the test subjects, who become more violent, take over the mansion and begin fighting over territory and Jane. The Jerry Goldsmith and some of the comedic antics may seem sort of wacky, but it all works, because when things start going wrong, the juxtaposition is startling. I'm all for movies where apes rise up and give humans what they deserve, so I loved Link, even if Franklin's true vision was cut down.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

It's more or less "Dunston Checks in at the Bates Motel"

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

More monkey mayhem. It's a decent, if rather formulaic ape-gone-wild thriller, but it's kinda hard to find the main monkey menacing. He's just too harming and hilarious with all his shenanigans...

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/25/19

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Audience Member

Monkey goes amuck using all the slasher film tropes.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

An obscure guilty pleasure with solid performances throughout. My only real gripe is how abruptly it ends.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Audience Member

Link is creepy and delivers plenty of scares to solidify it as a rare 80's gem with a great and enjoyable performance by Elisabeth Shue and impressive physical work from Locke...the film's murderous titular ape.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Richard Franklin

Director

Elisabeth Shue

Jane Chase

Terence Stamp

Dr. Steven Phillip

Steven Pinner

David

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Hal Boedeker

Miami Herald

Shue delivers her lines with the conviction of someone reciting her grocery list.

Rated: 1/4

Jun 26, 2021

Full Review

Michael H. Price

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

This picture merits a serious attention that its shoddy promotional exploitation will not encourage.

Jun 26, 2021

Full Review

Michael Wilmington

Los Angeles Times

Despite predictability and flaws, "Link" is surprisingly good. It's a tight, involving, "Beauty and the Beast" thriller, with more humor and intelligence than you'd guess.

Jun 26, 2021

Full Review

George Williams

Sacramento Bee

[Shue] is lovely to look at but an incompetent actress and possessed of a nasal voice that is irritating and disrupting.

Rated: 2/4

Jun 26, 2021

Full Review

Roger Hurlburt

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

It's a hirsute yarn full of growls and jabbers, knuckle-dragging and primal screams -- and the notion that not even Ray Berwick's trained apes can save a film with a silly story.

Jun 26, 2021

Full Review

Stephen Hunter

Baltimore Sun

It puts one in mind of the once-upon-a-time endless flood of fresh, clever, competent English horror movies from the high days of Hammer Films.

Jun 26, 2021

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Synopsis

A British scientist (Terence Stamp) and his helper (Elisabeth Shue) study trained chimps: Voodoo, Imp and the silent but deadly Link.

Director: Richard Franklin
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.3M
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: Surround

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