Baboon


What was the signifigance of the big baboon in the first part of the movie

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Come on some one must have an idea!

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I don't believe that the baboon itself has any significance. If I remember correctly from a Fangoria article that was out at the time, Barker said he wanted lion, or a tiger - but they didn't have the budget to get one.

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Maybe a reference to Jim Jones? Jones had a pet chimp named "Mr. Muggs." He saved this monkey from a lab that did tests on animals.

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[deleted]

I never thought of that you might be right! Did you know jim jones got his start as a door to door monkey salesman videos of it are here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD1aNEAfkrk

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That wasn't a Baboon, it's actually a Mandrill. The distinct colors pretty much identify it as such. :)


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Barker may have wanted a lion or a tiger, but I somehow think the Mandrill works better in the context of the story being told, as well as being far more unique from a visual standpoint.

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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

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[deleted]

Your sense of humor needs some work.

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[deleted]

Maybe a reference to Jim Jones? Jones had a pet chimp named "Mr. Muggs."

Interesting, it could be. I'll have to check this out.

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[deleted]

I believe the first part of that, but it's a stretch to say the mandrill performed acts on the girl. I think he's in love is merely a taunt after the mandrill rakes at her over and over. There's no sex implied in any way.

*** I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "I drank what?" ***

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Barker said he wanted lion, or a tiger - but they didn't have the budget to get one.

I remember him saying something about that on the DVD commentary also.
Barker gave an amusing anecdote about how Directors with immensely larger budgets still have to make these types of concessions.

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Even though Barker wanted a big cat for this scene, there's something intangible about such an exotic animal as a mandrill that adds a good horror element to this. I can't put my finger exactly on what it is, except perhaps to mirror how alien Nix's thinking and ways are. Just a guess.

Fear is the Mind Killer

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..Perhaps Barker is a fan of Howard Stern..

BA BA BOOEY! BA BA BOOEY! BA BA BOOEY!!!



..Well, he DOES look like a monkey.

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[deleted]


it scared the crap out of me.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKAb-VOit0Q

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The first time I saw this film, I immediately thought that the mandrill was a reference to Jim Jones pet. It really creeped me out. Cults/religion are not what Jesus/God are about (regarding Jim Jones' false teaching).

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that no one shall perish...

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"In ancient Egypt, baboons and monkeys often play a significant and mysterious role in religion and elsewhere. This somehow seems strange, as there are certainly no native monkeys or baboons to Egypt, nor have there been for some time stretching back to antiquity. However, it is clear that prehistoric Egyptians of the fourth millennium BC were familiar with monkeys, including the imposing and dangerous baboons and the African long-tailed monkey. Since that time, they have held a permanent place in ancient Egyptian religion as one of the more important animal forms into which the gods might be transformed. Also the very word "baboon" may be derived from ancient Egypt, perhaps from a linguistic root that characterized its sexual activities."


Read more: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/baboons.htm#ixzz3V9cUhlT7

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From the trivia section:
Nix's pet mandrill was supposed to have a gory death scene (Swann was supposed to shoot it), but this scene never made it to the final film because the makeup effects department couldn't get the "stunt mandrill" (a mechanized puppet) to work properly.
I've always wonder where the Mandrill went, Swann and his crew show up but we never see what happens to the creature. It would have been nice to see the above death scene or even a throw away shot on the Mandrill running away.

Dave

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The cult remained after Nix was buried, so I am sure they took care of the Mandrill.

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I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.

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