Just fun to watch, no meaning or anything. Just plain "giant mutated monster" inside a hospital and some people panic and scream while others try to stop it. I thought the acting wasn't bad, and there were a couple of gory moments. The "blue monkey" which is a giant insect was an ok model. Very predictable.
34 Reviews
A Puzzling Gem
choppyno21 July 2005
I've seen this movie so many times that I am on my second VHS copy. As I am writing this I am burning it onto DVD, because I'm not sure it's even available in that format. Well...It should be! If you like campy horror/sci-fi movies then you'll love this puzzling gem. And for the love of Pete, it's got Steve Railsback(X-Files, Lifeforce, Helter Skelter, Devils Rejects)!!! This is a movie about a quarantined hospital under attack from a ravaging bacterial disease outbreak, and worse. No, not a blue monkey. Worse.
OK, so I had to finish the movie and stop writing for a few minutes. This movie is great for a lot of reasons that come up around midnight. Don't expect to be scared, though there is some great bloody gore. If you like The Terror Within, or Dead Pit or stuff like that, you'll love it. If you think any movie with an alien since the release of Alien is a rip-off of Alien, then go rent Alien.
OK, so I had to finish the movie and stop writing for a few minutes. This movie is great for a lot of reasons that come up around midnight. Don't expect to be scared, though there is some great bloody gore. If you like The Terror Within, or Dead Pit or stuff like that, you'll love it. If you think any movie with an alien since the release of Alien is a rip-off of Alien, then go rent Alien.
Blue Monkey
Scarecrow-8826 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
A repairman is infected when his hand is "cut" by a certain flower which causes something encased in a cocoon to exit his mouth while he's unconscious in an emergency room of County Memorial Hospital. This causes an infection which soon leaves paramedics who brought the victim to the emergency room to become unconscious and afflicted as well. Detective Jim Bishop(Steve Railsback) enters the emergency room with a partner who was shot during a stakeout which went awry. Along with Dr. Rachel Carson(Gwynyth Walsh)and entomologist Elliot Jacobs(Don Lake), Bishop will have his hands full as hospitalized kids being mischievous enter the lab holding the cocooned insect, feeding it a large dose of NAC-5, an accelerant growth promoter, because they thought it was hungry and needed nourishment, which works as a catalyst in metamorphosing it to a substantial degree, now an insect monster on the rampage. The Lincoln Center for Disease Control(working with Department of Health) puts County Memorial Hospital under quarantine and burns down the greenhouse which contained the flower behind the insect. Developments emerge which includes the fact that a bottle of Jack helped stop the toxins(caused by the infection) from spreading throughout the bodies of two elderly ladies who get wasted, an audio recording by Elliot of the giant insect mate's "voice" actually interrupts its path towards killing Bishop, County Memorial has a laser research lab(Laser research is the wave of the future Dr. proclaims) for future benefits in molecular breakdown and DNA experiments which will be used as a method to distract the creature, and we are informed through the entomologist that future insects will breed at an alarming rate(feeding from humans slowly, as we see in the case of a nurse and scientist who are cocooned and eaten from!). Essentially a "giant bug" movie with Railsback up against an insect which walks upright and beheads innocent victims who cross its path. I think this film has a bad rep due to its ridiculous title, because BLUE MONKEY(the alternate title, INSECT, is actually more logical)is more or less reminiscent of other 50s giant insect titles, except in a modern 80s setting. The creature is darkly lit and carefully edited as it causes mayhem obviously so that it wouldn't cause chuckles if seen clearly. Railsback gets to play hero again, but will need help from Walsh and Lake if he is to conquer the fiend and its offspring. Susan Anspach is another emergency room doctor, Judith Glass(she's the one who discovers the solution to the outbreak)and John Vernon is the hospital administrator(not as much an asshole as he normally is in other movies). Joe Flaherty and Robin Duke are a couple expecting the birth of their first child, a sub-plot which has no reason to be in the movie, to tell you the truth, other than to add some comedy.
blue monkey... why??
mindset_8827 January 2005
Blue monkey is actually mentioned in the film but not in any way that makes any possible sense. At one point,some kids are wandering thru the deeper levels, exploring.
They begin to discuss what they'll find down there and one of them (a girl) says she bets they'll find a blue monkey.
Yes, thats it. Totally inconsequential to the story, the only sad connection to the title, and no idea why she would suppose she'd find a blue monkey in a hospital's basement.
I'm embarrassed for having remembered it but somebody had to remember I suppose!
They begin to discuss what they'll find down there and one of them (a girl) says she bets they'll find a blue monkey.
Yes, thats it. Totally inconsequential to the story, the only sad connection to the title, and no idea why she would suppose she'd find a blue monkey in a hospital's basement.
I'm embarrassed for having remembered it but somebody had to remember I suppose!
A passable big bug B-movie.
BA_Harrison7 May 2020
There are no monkeys in this cheesy horror film, blue or otherwise; what we do get is a giant killer bug terrorising the occupants of a hospital under quarantine.
The film opens with handyman Fred pricking his hand on a rare Micronesian plant and collapsing soon after. Fred is rushed to the hospital where doctors are surprised to see a giant maggot emerge from the man's mouth. When the maggot is cut open, an insect emerges, which is trapped under a glass container for later examination.
Meanwhile, Detective Jim Bishop (Steve Railsback) is waiting for news about his partner Oscar, who has been shot. While Oscar is on the operating table, Dr. Rachel Carson (Gwyneth Walsh) gives Jim a tour of the hospital, including its high-tech laser research laboratory, which you can bet your bottom dollar comes into play during the film's finale.
Also guaranteed to be a major plot point: the network of old, deserted tunnels used as a playground by four of the hospital's youngest patients (health and safety be damned!).
Speaking of the film's four troublesome tykes, it is their actions that cause the insect to grow to immense proportions, the dumb kids discovering the bug trapped under glass and feeding it with NAC-5, an experimental growth promoter. Doh!
Given the schlocky nature of the film's plot, I had hoped that Blue Monkey would be a huge helping of gory B-movie fun, with plenty of creature effects; unfortunately, there is more goop than gore, and the killer insect doesn't get much screen time until the final act, when it finally gets to run amok (chewing off a guy's head in the movie's bloodiest moment -- if only there had been more of this kind of mayhem!).
Director William Fruet's direction is uninspired, borrowing heavily from James Cameron's Aliens, but without that film-maker's style and imagination (or his budget!). There's lots of crawling around dark passages and blue-lit tunnels, and shots of the characters running for their lives while being chased by the scuttling bug, but perhaps the most blatant crib comes when the bug's larvae emerge to feed on still-living human victims trapped in gelatinous cocoons.
As this sort of silliness goes, Blue Monkey is passable B-movie fun, but with more gore and more bug action it could have been great.
4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
The film opens with handyman Fred pricking his hand on a rare Micronesian plant and collapsing soon after. Fred is rushed to the hospital where doctors are surprised to see a giant maggot emerge from the man's mouth. When the maggot is cut open, an insect emerges, which is trapped under a glass container for later examination.
Meanwhile, Detective Jim Bishop (Steve Railsback) is waiting for news about his partner Oscar, who has been shot. While Oscar is on the operating table, Dr. Rachel Carson (Gwyneth Walsh) gives Jim a tour of the hospital, including its high-tech laser research laboratory, which you can bet your bottom dollar comes into play during the film's finale.
Also guaranteed to be a major plot point: the network of old, deserted tunnels used as a playground by four of the hospital's youngest patients (health and safety be damned!).
Speaking of the film's four troublesome tykes, it is their actions that cause the insect to grow to immense proportions, the dumb kids discovering the bug trapped under glass and feeding it with NAC-5, an experimental growth promoter. Doh!
Given the schlocky nature of the film's plot, I had hoped that Blue Monkey would be a huge helping of gory B-movie fun, with plenty of creature effects; unfortunately, there is more goop than gore, and the killer insect doesn't get much screen time until the final act, when it finally gets to run amok (chewing off a guy's head in the movie's bloodiest moment -- if only there had been more of this kind of mayhem!).
Director William Fruet's direction is uninspired, borrowing heavily from James Cameron's Aliens, but without that film-maker's style and imagination (or his budget!). There's lots of crawling around dark passages and blue-lit tunnels, and shots of the characters running for their lives while being chased by the scuttling bug, but perhaps the most blatant crib comes when the bug's larvae emerge to feed on still-living human victims trapped in gelatinous cocoons.
As this sort of silliness goes, Blue Monkey is passable B-movie fun, but with more gore and more bug action it could have been great.
4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
Holy cow...err, monkey
BandSAboutMovies14 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Producer Sandy Howard (A Man Called Horse, The Neptune Factor - look for that one in oh, a few hours on our site, The Devil's Rain!, Meteor) had a three-picture deal with RCA-Columbia back in the glorious days of direct to video store movies. Along with Dark Tower (where Freddie Francis (numerous Hammer and Amicus favorites like Trog and Tales from the Crypt) and Ken Widerhorn (Shock Waves, Return of the Living Dead Part II, Eyes of a Stranger) combined forces to become Ken Barnett, directing Michael Moriarty and Jenny Agutter as they battled a haunted high rise) and Nightstick (in which a renegade cop and Leslie Nielsen battle terrorists), he dreamed up a ripoff of Aliens that would take place in a hospital that was called Green Monkey due to the theory that that's where AIDS came from. Hey - it was 1987.
Helping matters was the 30% Canadian tax benefit, as long as the film was shot in the Great White North with mainly Canadian talent. That means that Saskatchewan native John Vernon is going to show up in most of these films. That's a welcome thing in my eyes.
Marwellia Harbison is an old woman who loves her plants, but her Micronesian plant is drooping and when handyman Fred Adams inspects it, it pricks his finger. Soon, he collapses and she takes him to Hill Valley Hospital.
Doctors Rachel Carson (perhaps named for the Pittsburgh native whose book Silent Spring advanced the global environmental movement) and Judith Glass see the man and are shocked to discover he already has gangrene.
Ther next patient is the partner of Detective Jim Bishop (Steve Railsback, Helter Skelter, Turkey Shoot), who was shot point blank by criminals.
But back to Fred, who starts shaking and puking up a gigantic insect in pupa form, which they hospital techs put into a bell jar. For some reason, this hospital is also testing military-grade lasers and can analyze monstrous bugs that come out of the stomachs of old men. It's really all things to all people, a deus ex machine for all seasons.
Marwella and the paramedic who helped Fred now have the same symptoms, and when Fred himself goes into cardiac arrest, the shock paddles cause his chest to explode in a torrent of blood. When the doctors all demand that the hospital be quarantined, hospital director Roger Levering (there's that John Vernon role we've been waiting for!) refuses, as he doesn't want to cause a panic.
Can things get worse? Of course. Remember that bug in the bell jar? Well, a lab tech is ordered to keep an eye on it, which she instantly forgets when her boyfriend brings the promise of weed and sex in the parking lot. Then, to compound matters, a group of sick kids decides to screw around and pour blue powder all over the beast. That blue powder ends up being some growth hormone, which of course was just lying around the lab. So now, in addition to the virus spreading throughout the hospital, there's also a gigantic bug killing people left and right.
Can our heroes stop the bug - and the outbreak - before the government enacts the Return of the Living Dead protocol and nukes the hospital from orbit? Well, you're just going to have to watch for yourself.
Don Lake, who is in six different Christopher Guest movies and is the writing partner of Bonnie Hunt, shows up as an entomologist. And if you're looking for cameos by people that you know you love, look no further than SCTV alums Robin Duke and Joe Flaherty (Pittsburgh's own Count Floyd) who are a couple preparing to have a baby in the midst of this insectoid madness. And this is also one of the very first acting roles for Sarah Polley, who would go on to star in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. She's one of the kids dumb enough to pour that blue growth powder all over that bug.
Blue Monkey is also known as Insect and Invasion of the Body Suckers, both of which have magnificent VHS box art.
So yeah. Blue Monkey. A movie that hasn't been rediscovered and re-released as a $50 blu ray by a boutique label yet. Once you could rent it for 99¢, now you'll pony up the big bucks for it.
Helping matters was the 30% Canadian tax benefit, as long as the film was shot in the Great White North with mainly Canadian talent. That means that Saskatchewan native John Vernon is going to show up in most of these films. That's a welcome thing in my eyes.
Marwellia Harbison is an old woman who loves her plants, but her Micronesian plant is drooping and when handyman Fred Adams inspects it, it pricks his finger. Soon, he collapses and she takes him to Hill Valley Hospital.
Doctors Rachel Carson (perhaps named for the Pittsburgh native whose book Silent Spring advanced the global environmental movement) and Judith Glass see the man and are shocked to discover he already has gangrene.
Ther next patient is the partner of Detective Jim Bishop (Steve Railsback, Helter Skelter, Turkey Shoot), who was shot point blank by criminals.
But back to Fred, who starts shaking and puking up a gigantic insect in pupa form, which they hospital techs put into a bell jar. For some reason, this hospital is also testing military-grade lasers and can analyze monstrous bugs that come out of the stomachs of old men. It's really all things to all people, a deus ex machine for all seasons.
Marwella and the paramedic who helped Fred now have the same symptoms, and when Fred himself goes into cardiac arrest, the shock paddles cause his chest to explode in a torrent of blood. When the doctors all demand that the hospital be quarantined, hospital director Roger Levering (there's that John Vernon role we've been waiting for!) refuses, as he doesn't want to cause a panic.
Can things get worse? Of course. Remember that bug in the bell jar? Well, a lab tech is ordered to keep an eye on it, which she instantly forgets when her boyfriend brings the promise of weed and sex in the parking lot. Then, to compound matters, a group of sick kids decides to screw around and pour blue powder all over the beast. That blue powder ends up being some growth hormone, which of course was just lying around the lab. So now, in addition to the virus spreading throughout the hospital, there's also a gigantic bug killing people left and right.
Can our heroes stop the bug - and the outbreak - before the government enacts the Return of the Living Dead protocol and nukes the hospital from orbit? Well, you're just going to have to watch for yourself.
Don Lake, who is in six different Christopher Guest movies and is the writing partner of Bonnie Hunt, shows up as an entomologist. And if you're looking for cameos by people that you know you love, look no further than SCTV alums Robin Duke and Joe Flaherty (Pittsburgh's own Count Floyd) who are a couple preparing to have a baby in the midst of this insectoid madness. And this is also one of the very first acting roles for Sarah Polley, who would go on to star in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. She's one of the kids dumb enough to pour that blue growth powder all over that bug.
Blue Monkey is also known as Insect and Invasion of the Body Suckers, both of which have magnificent VHS box art.
So yeah. Blue Monkey. A movie that hasn't been rediscovered and re-released as a $50 blu ray by a boutique label yet. Once you could rent it for 99¢, now you'll pony up the big bucks for it.
Monkey's paw.
HumanoidOfFlesh18 January 2010
I remember having seen "Blue Monkey" on Polish VHS under the title "Insect" many years ago.The plot of this Canadian creature feature is fairly simple:a giant insect is running amok in a popular hospital.A worm like bacteria is spreading the disease on the patients.Once a group of kids mistakenly sprinkle a jar of growth stimulant onto the creature it eventually turns into a giant insect.The hospital is quickly quarantined by the government and the army.Cheesy monster flick with cult actor Steve Railsback of "Turkey Shoot" as the main hero.Unfortunately the amount of gore and violence is very low.If you like William Fruet's movies for example "Death Weekend" or "Trappped" give "Blue Monkey" a look.7 monkeys out of 10.
BLUE MONKEY: ahead of its time...
TCurtis919217 June 2022
BLUE MONKEY (1987, Fruet) is not a 50's throwback because the plot is far too nonsensical and it draws heavily from the scripts and storylines of films from the time. It is more before its time in tone as it feels very much like a horror film from the 1990's; the music has no personality, creates no atmosphere, drones on constantly, and sounds generic before it could have been; the lighting is awful; the plot is just disgustingly bad; it stinks of unnecessary cheese at times...
But the effects are actually good. It's a shame that the setting, characters, writing and soundtrack don't do those effects justice.
But the effects are actually good. It's a shame that the setting, characters, writing and soundtrack don't do those effects justice.
Oh, how I enjoyed this!!
paulclaassen18 October 2021
Don't mind the horrible movie poster; it doesn't do the movie justice at all!
Critics hated 'Blue Monkey'. I loved it. I loved it for the lack of humor that was sometimes so overbearing in 80s horror movies. (I get it; Americans, especially, like to laugh when they watch a movie. I like to laugh when I watch a comedy, and maybe horror comedies, but not horrors). I suppose critics hated it because it was too serious...
Well, ok, let's face it, the plot is overly familiar. It is about a parasite that grows larger and feeds on humans. Yeah, sure, we've seen this a zillion times before. 'Blue Monkey' however has a reasonably good script, good dialogue, good acting, characters I care about, and good visuals. The film is also fast-paced, and literally thrill-a-minute.
After being pricked by a plant, an elderly gentleman is taken to a hospital to be treated for an insect bite. A parasite comes out of his mouth, and off course all mayhem ensues from there on. The film builds momentum once the hospital is quarantined and no one is allowed to leave - while the insect grows bigger inside and also starts laying eggs, soon to hatch. The result is absolute chaos.
There were some funny moments, too, with some funny dialogue, and the two drunk ladies were absolutely hilarious! They were just fabulous! I also thoroughly enjoyed Steve Railsback once again as the protagonist. 'Bad Monkey' is an entertaining film with a thrilling climax. I absolutely loved it!
Would I watch it again? Yes, definitely.
Critics hated 'Blue Monkey'. I loved it. I loved it for the lack of humor that was sometimes so overbearing in 80s horror movies. (I get it; Americans, especially, like to laugh when they watch a movie. I like to laugh when I watch a comedy, and maybe horror comedies, but not horrors). I suppose critics hated it because it was too serious...
Well, ok, let's face it, the plot is overly familiar. It is about a parasite that grows larger and feeds on humans. Yeah, sure, we've seen this a zillion times before. 'Blue Monkey' however has a reasonably good script, good dialogue, good acting, characters I care about, and good visuals. The film is also fast-paced, and literally thrill-a-minute.
After being pricked by a plant, an elderly gentleman is taken to a hospital to be treated for an insect bite. A parasite comes out of his mouth, and off course all mayhem ensues from there on. The film builds momentum once the hospital is quarantined and no one is allowed to leave - while the insect grows bigger inside and also starts laying eggs, soon to hatch. The result is absolute chaos.
There were some funny moments, too, with some funny dialogue, and the two drunk ladies were absolutely hilarious! They were just fabulous! I also thoroughly enjoyed Steve Railsback once again as the protagonist. 'Bad Monkey' is an entertaining film with a thrilling climax. I absolutely loved it!
Would I watch it again? Yes, definitely.
The name shoulda given it away..
bonepilot19 October 2003
This low budget sci-fi tries to incorporate so many elements from "Alien", "The Thing", "Arachnophobia", "Mimic" and "Them", it should be called "Blue Ripoff"!
I know, I know... this film pre-dates "Arachnophobia" and "Mimic", but the "mutated insect-out-of-control, rampaging-through-a-decrepit hospital" idea provides little chills, little suspense, and a lot of sympathy for health insurance litigation. The casting was erratic at best (c'mon...Joe Flaherty and Robin Duke of SCTV fame?) and though the pace was fairly quick in the right places, you still had the sense that too much was crammed into too little a film all too late. The name, "Blue Monkey"?? What's with that? Probably a red herring only the writer and director are aware of.
I know, I know... this film pre-dates "Arachnophobia" and "Mimic", but the "mutated insect-out-of-control, rampaging-through-a-decrepit hospital" idea provides little chills, little suspense, and a lot of sympathy for health insurance litigation. The casting was erratic at best (c'mon...Joe Flaherty and Robin Duke of SCTV fame?) and though the pace was fairly quick in the right places, you still had the sense that too much was crammed into too little a film all too late. The name, "Blue Monkey"?? What's with that? Probably a red herring only the writer and director are aware of.
Horror monkey business
Coventry4 August 2005
Never even knew this movie existed until I found an old VHS copy of it, hidden deep in my dusty horror closet. The title on the box said "Insect" and the illustrations on the back made clear that it is just another insignificant and poorly produced 80's horror movie. They can surely be fun, of course, as long as don't expect an intelligent scenario and as long as you're not irritated by seeing a giant amount of cheesy make-up effects. Just about every important aspect that makes a horror movie worthy viewing is substandard here in "Blue Monkey"! The plot is ridiculous and highly unoriginal, the acting performances are painful to observe and there's a total lack of suspense. Following the always-popular trend of "big-bug" movies, "Blue Monkey" handles about a new and unknown insect species that wipes out the doctors and patients of a remote hospital. The makers couldn't be more evasive about the actual origin of this gigantically over-sized critter! All we know is that it's not from outer space and it initially crawled out of a tropical plant. Other than this, there's absolutely no explanation for where this new type of insect all of a sudden comes from! Like I said, don't get your hopes up for an intelligent screenplay. The first half of the film is entertaining enough, with some nice gore and the introduction of a couple deranged characters (an 80-year-old blind and alcoholic lady!) but the second half (when the entire hospital is put to quarantine) is dreadfully boring. It is also near the end that "Blue Monkey" begins to exaggeratedly rip-off older (and better) films. Approaching the climax, they apparently ran out of budget as well, since the lighting becomes very poor and the guy in the monster suit isn't very well camouflaged anymore. "Blue Monkey" is worth a peek in case you're really bored or if you really want to see every 80's horror movie ever made. Fans of B-cinema may recognize John Vernon ("Killer Klowns from Outer Space", "Curtains") in the small and meaningless role of Roger, who's in charge of the clinic.
A Film to Have Fun With
Zanatos22 April 1999
As I was watching "Blue Monkey," I realized that, although the budget was small, I was still having a good time! Low budget movies that can do that are the best ones.
It is about a small hospital that gets itself some big trouble. A patient who has contracted a serious case of gangrene is brought in and, unknown to the staff, the gangrene is thanks to a strange insect that used the patient to deposit eggs in. When they do find out about it, they catch it and call in an insect specialist, but, before he can arrive, the larva is accidentally mutated to an enormous size and changes into a giant insect that looks like a preying mantis. It runs loose in the hospital, killing people for it to use as hosts for its eggs, and only three brave people---a cop, a doctor, the insect specialist---are willing to stop it.
This movie is just fun to watch (especially Don Lake as the specialist, who steals ever scene he is in). A must for fans of movies like "The Thing." Zanatos's score: 8 out of 10. Check it out!
It is about a small hospital that gets itself some big trouble. A patient who has contracted a serious case of gangrene is brought in and, unknown to the staff, the gangrene is thanks to a strange insect that used the patient to deposit eggs in. When they do find out about it, they catch it and call in an insect specialist, but, before he can arrive, the larva is accidentally mutated to an enormous size and changes into a giant insect that looks like a preying mantis. It runs loose in the hospital, killing people for it to use as hosts for its eggs, and only three brave people---a cop, a doctor, the insect specialist---are willing to stop it.
This movie is just fun to watch (especially Don Lake as the specialist, who steals ever scene he is in). A must for fans of movies like "The Thing." Zanatos's score: 8 out of 10. Check it out!
Cheesy 80's creature feature
Lizlynn_111113 February 2021
I really miss movies that had practical effects creatures like this one, a lot of work went into creating those insects!
While not a great film, it has an 80's B-movie charm and I found it to be very entertaining. The acting was decent and it takes place pretty much entirely in a hospital which is a plus! It's definitely a fun movie if you're not too critical of it, enjoy 80's creature features and are a fan of practical effects.
While not a great film, it has an 80's B-movie charm and I found it to be very entertaining. The acting was decent and it takes place pretty much entirely in a hospital which is a plus! It's definitely a fun movie if you're not too critical of it, enjoy 80's creature features and are a fan of practical effects.
Another Aliens clone
Leofwine_draca4 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
INSECT! (1987, aka BLUE MONKEY, INVASION OF THE BODYSUCKERS) is a low budget Canadian monster flick from director William Fruet, who previously handled such fare as DEATH WEEKEND and SPASMS. This one's set entirely in a hospital, where an old boy is brought in after pricking his finger on a thorn in his greenhouse. He soon spews up a larva which rapidly transforms into a giant, mantis-style insect with a taste for human flesh, leaving a small assortment of kooks and investigators to track it down and kill it. After the oddball opening this is a film that turns into a blatant ALIENS rip-off, complete with hazy blue lighting, a monster that resembles the alien queen, cocooned survivors being impregnated by insect grubs, and a little bit of gore. Cult favourite Steve Railsback is a solid choice as the hero of the hour although before long this descends into the usual running around dark corridors FX piece, and a dearth of creativity hits it hard. You'd be better off just watching the Cameron classic again.
The title says it all!
andy-22717 May 1999
After you've heard the name "Blue Monkey", you start to wonder, what does it mean? Well, you already know the answer to that. It's a campy horror(I mean s**t)flick with no meaning or no talent involved whatsoever. It's title is as meaningless and as pointless as the movie itself. It was originally called "Green Monkey". The title was changed to "Blue Monkey". Big improvement. Bad special effects and poor filming all add up to make this one of the worst movies hollywood has ever seen(or one of the worst one's I've seen for that matter)!
Well, not the best or worst of movies of this type...
paul_haakonsen30 July 2020
Well, for a movie from 1987 that didn't really have much of any originality to it, then "Blue Monkey" wasn't actually too bad. Sure, writers George Goldsmith and Chris Koseluk were boring heavily from other more successful movies from the mid-1980s, and it was clearly evident. But "Blue Monkey" turned out to be adequately entertaining.
The storyline in "Blue Monkey" wasn't really much noteworthy, as it was very, very straightforward and generic, even for a horror movie of this sort, for better or worse. I have to admit that I was moderately entertained by the story and what transpired on the screen.
The special effects in "Blue Monkey" were actually surprisingly good for a movie of this type, and that was definitely something that spoke well in favor of the movie.
As for the acting, well it was adequate enough actually. Just nothing outstanding or particularly memorable, I am afraid. The only familiar faces for me, at least, was John Vernon and Don Lake.
All in all, then "Blue Monkey" proved to be adequately entertaining for what it turned out to be. Just don't get your expectations up too high, as there are (and were) far better movies in the same genre. I am rating "Blue Monkey" a five out of ten stars.
The storyline in "Blue Monkey" wasn't really much noteworthy, as it was very, very straightforward and generic, even for a horror movie of this sort, for better or worse. I have to admit that I was moderately entertained by the story and what transpired on the screen.
The special effects in "Blue Monkey" were actually surprisingly good for a movie of this type, and that was definitely something that spoke well in favor of the movie.
As for the acting, well it was adequate enough actually. Just nothing outstanding or particularly memorable, I am afraid. The only familiar faces for me, at least, was John Vernon and Don Lake.
All in all, then "Blue Monkey" proved to be adequately entertaining for what it turned out to be. Just don't get your expectations up too high, as there are (and were) far better movies in the same genre. I am rating "Blue Monkey" a five out of ten stars.
The must see movie of 1987!
doom-of-our-time22 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Now, it would be some sort of cliché if i began with the bit about the title, so i'll wait on that. First, this movie made me wonder why kids do stupid things like wander around in labs and break bottles. Then i realized it, this is a movie with a message, that message is beat kids and things like this won't happen. Things like what you ask? Things like a giant insectish monster growing up and causing a bit of mayhem before dying in the typical "kill the monster indirectly" fashion. Now, as promised... Blue Monkey... has nothing Blue in it nor any Simian of any kind. Now it snot like i was cheated or anything. The picture on the cover had a giant bug/crab/idiot/thing on the front chasing some screaming nurses. That kinda happened but i wanted apes! having just enjoyed MOST EXTREME PRIMATE a few nights before(half drunk on Cask and Creame's brandy mind you) i was in the mood for more monkey hijacks 80's style. Not so much. If you like snow boarding apes or blue things this movie is not for you. If you like bugs and good reasons to hit kids, rent this.
Stop monkeying around!
udar559 October 2009
After getting pricked by an exotic plant, an old man ends up in a hospital emergency room and pukes up a larva before dying. The staff keep the bug isolated but a group of terminally ill young kids accidentally pour some growth serum on it and, you guess it, things be going down. Also on the scene is Det. Jim Bishop (Steve Railsback), who brought his shot partner into the ER just before the place is quarantined by the local government. Bishop teams with Dr. Rachel Carson (Gwynyth Walsh) and entomologist Elliot Jacobs (Don Lake) to take this mammoth bug down, despite the protestation of the hospital director (John Vernon).
Like the director William Fruet's earlier SPASMS, this was shot in Canada and is played dead straight. I actually think a little humor from the leads would have helped (there are some supporting players who try to be funny). The big bug is kept mostly in the dark but does provide a few moments of gooey gore via some decapitations. Vernon only appears to have been with the production for a few days as his scenes are minimal. Future Canadian acting power house Sarah Polley plays one of the kids responsible for this mess (the killer bug, that is).
Like the director William Fruet's earlier SPASMS, this was shot in Canada and is played dead straight. I actually think a little humor from the leads would have helped (there are some supporting players who try to be funny). The big bug is kept mostly in the dark but does provide a few moments of gooey gore via some decapitations. Vernon only appears to have been with the production for a few days as his scenes are minimal. Future Canadian acting power house Sarah Polley plays one of the kids responsible for this mess (the killer bug, that is).
Enjoyable Big Bug Movie
ladymidath17 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Don't expect anything intelligent or profound here, it's not that kind of movie. Instead, settle back with a big bowl of popcorn and have fun. It is definitely the better of the big bug/nature gone wild films, but it doesn't have the seriousness of Nightwing or Prophecy which both dealt with serious issues surrounding the environment and mans' destruction of it. Insect, or Blue Monkey is an entertaining man versus giant insect movie that isn't bad but pretty forgettable. It's goofy fun that can be enjoyed as long as you don't think too much about it. The actors did their jobs just fine, and the child actors were not too annoying which is always a plus for me.
This is a pure 80s fun movie.
This is a pure 80s fun movie.
Not very well known and a pretty boring 80's horror movie!!!
cool_cool_115 January 2007
Blue Monkey (1987) or 'Invasion of the BodySuckers' as it's known here in the UK was a pretty boring horror movie about an old man who gets bitten in a greenhouse by some mysterious toxic plant!!!! The man gets rushed to hospital, where this worm like creature comes out of his mouth, of course this transforms into this insect monster and proceeds to go on the rampage!! Despite Steve Railsback and John Vernon being in the movie, i found it to be boring, with a flat predictable storyline, un-interesting characters, cheap special effects and lack of action!!!! Horror fans don't really need to track this rare movie down, you wont be missing much trust me!!! I give this movie 2/10.
1980's cheap horror
Sergiodave3 August 2020
Only gave it 4 star because it made me laugh. The plot is unoriginal, a coloured 1950's drive in movie, the acting is bad and the dialogue is a joke. Best part is watching John Vernon trying, but failing, to keep a straight face. Have no idea why its called Blue Monkey!
Good, goofy, retro 50's style giant killer insect fun
Woodyanders15 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This wonderfully silly late 80's gigantic lethal bug on the loose creature feature manages to be good, brisk, dopey fun if one catches it in a properly childish state of mind. The crazy plot, cooked up with lotsa choice tried'n'true fright flick clichés by hack screenwriter George Goldsmith (the guy to blame for stretching "Children of the Corn"'s laboriously drawn-out plot to a clunky 90 minute length), has a giant, deadly, mutated insect stalking and killing people in a hospital, a plague caused by the bug infecting several patients so the building has to be quarantined (leading to your standard beat-the-clock tension and, better still, providing as good an excuse as any to keep folks trapped in the hospital so the bug can off 'em), likable take-charge macho cop Steve Railsback standing up to the slimy sucker, and SCTV veterans Joe Flaherty and Robin Duke supplying hilariously tasteless low-brow comic relief as a histrionic doofus and his equally hysterical pregnant wife, respectively. Helping out the stalwart Railsback are gutsy doctor Gwynth Walsh and nerdy bespectacled entomologist Don Lake, while Susan Anspach as another brave physician looks concerned on the sidelines and crusty hospital administrator John Vernon sourly grumbles his disapproval of the whole nutty mess throughout. Future star watchers will want to keep their eyes peeled for a very young and girlish Sarah Polley as a wee tyke the bug tries to snack on (the drooling fiend feeds on calcium, you see); at one point Railsback runs down a hallway carrying Polley in his arms while the bug chases after them!
Yeah, as one could surmise from the above synopsis this is a seriously goofy and ridiculous affair, but the spirited direction by seasoned Canadian horror pic helmer William Fruet (his other credits include the savagely effective "The Last House on the Left" cash-in copy "Death Weekend," the spooky "Funeral Home," and the laughably lousy giant killer snake stinker "Spasms"), the surprisingly sound and straight performances from the admirably earnest cast (save Duke and Flaherty, who both mug it up gleefully with often sidesplitting results), the fiercely energetic and unflagging narrative momentum, a genuinely cool creature, a reasonable amount of gooey gore, and the inspired blending of 80's type gunky splatter with an endearingly hokey 50's style over-sized mankind-noshing killer bug premise make this thoroughly inane nonsense quite entertaining just the same.
Yeah, as one could surmise from the above synopsis this is a seriously goofy and ridiculous affair, but the spirited direction by seasoned Canadian horror pic helmer William Fruet (his other credits include the savagely effective "The Last House on the Left" cash-in copy "Death Weekend," the spooky "Funeral Home," and the laughably lousy giant killer snake stinker "Spasms"), the surprisingly sound and straight performances from the admirably earnest cast (save Duke and Flaherty, who both mug it up gleefully with often sidesplitting results), the fiercely energetic and unflagging narrative momentum, a genuinely cool creature, a reasonable amount of gooey gore, and the inspired blending of 80's type gunky splatter with an endearingly hokey 50's style over-sized mankind-noshing killer bug premise make this thoroughly inane nonsense quite entertaining just the same.
Ooh! That's scary, keeds!
eminges31 March 2002
All this dismaying waste of film stock needs is Count Floyd popping up every sixty seconds. Somehow they got Steve Railsback, Susan Anspach, John Vernon, and Joe Flaherty together on a set and couldn't get within five miles, about eight kilometers, of an actual movie. BOY does this thing suck. There isn't one original line, thought, shot, or effect from brainless opening sequence to brainless close. The magical, ethereal Susan Anspach of Five Easy Pieces - boring. Steve Railsback - boring. John Vernon - boring. The big bug - boring. If this is a scary movie, Buttercream Gang is a thuglife documentary.
Seriously - every bad movie contains its own explanation of its badness. Usually it's in the opening credits - "Written, Directed, and Produced by" one guy. Or at the very center of the action is some bimbo so talentless that you know there's one and only one reason this turkey got made. Here, you don't find out till the very last of the credits, where the cooperation of about a dozen subfunctions of the Canadian Government is gratefully acknowledged.
Right now I'm watching MST's take on Beast of Yucca Flats to get the taste out of my mouth. Ghod, what an improvement.
Seriously - every bad movie contains its own explanation of its badness. Usually it's in the opening credits - "Written, Directed, and Produced by" one guy. Or at the very center of the action is some bimbo so talentless that you know there's one and only one reason this turkey got made. Here, you don't find out till the very last of the credits, where the cooperation of about a dozen subfunctions of the Canadian Government is gratefully acknowledged.
Right now I'm watching MST's take on Beast of Yucca Flats to get the taste out of my mouth. Ghod, what an improvement.
* out of 4.
brandonsites198119 August 2002
A man suffering from a bite wound is brought into a hospital. The doctors do not know exactly what is wrong with him and eventually a worm like creature comes out of his mouth and begins to kill the hospital staff. Cheap looking, ineffective horror flick. Poor lighting, scant special effects, non-existent acting, and poor direction are just are a few of the films problems.
A sum of parts.
lost-in-limbo25 December 2021
Not bad. William Fruet's Blue Monkey aka Insect is a cheap, yet slightly effective throwback to old school 1950s Sci-if horror with a hokey looking big bug terrorising a county hospital. However I thought the story's starting point of a contagious infestation was better handled, and way more fascinating than when it fell into the basic, one-note creature on the loose/search and destroy formula.
A prick from an exotic plant, causes an old man to collapse and while in hospital coughs up a parasitic cocoon. Obviously it mutates, with some help (mischievous kids + growth hormone) and gets loose.
While it won't win any awards for originality from its premise, as it doesn't go anywhere inventive, or overly exciting with its storytelling/or direction. Still this b-movie gets by on its comic spirit, mild gooey effects and the casts' straight-face commitment (not surprising when you have Steven Railsback and John Vernon) to the silly, slapdash material. And there's no shortage of jokey material, especially regarding the daily rounds of the E. R working its way into the creature/feature script. However there was a shortage of gross-out, and carnage, outside of the cocoon (ala Alien) shock and one head ripping jolt. It mainly favoured off-screen attacks, which was little and sneaky POV shots. Disappointing since the ideas brought up, namely involving the growing infestation and larva, could've made for some grisly, and chaotic fun. As demonstrated in the final 20 minutes of the mantis-like creature scurrying through shadowy underground tunnels and moodily blue lit hospital corridors causing an outright panic as the intensity picks up. Maybe limitations to the bug effects, which shows in some frames, meant they had to shoot around, or be selective to get the best results.
A prick from an exotic plant, causes an old man to collapse and while in hospital coughs up a parasitic cocoon. Obviously it mutates, with some help (mischievous kids + growth hormone) and gets loose.
While it won't win any awards for originality from its premise, as it doesn't go anywhere inventive, or overly exciting with its storytelling/or direction. Still this b-movie gets by on its comic spirit, mild gooey effects and the casts' straight-face commitment (not surprising when you have Steven Railsback and John Vernon) to the silly, slapdash material. And there's no shortage of jokey material, especially regarding the daily rounds of the E. R working its way into the creature/feature script. However there was a shortage of gross-out, and carnage, outside of the cocoon (ala Alien) shock and one head ripping jolt. It mainly favoured off-screen attacks, which was little and sneaky POV shots. Disappointing since the ideas brought up, namely involving the growing infestation and larva, could've made for some grisly, and chaotic fun. As demonstrated in the final 20 minutes of the mantis-like creature scurrying through shadowy underground tunnels and moodily blue lit hospital corridors causing an outright panic as the intensity picks up. Maybe limitations to the bug effects, which shows in some frames, meant they had to shoot around, or be selective to get the best results.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
