Lee Grant in The Mafu Cage (1978)

Clips

Pics

Review

Two sisters and their late father’s pet ape coexist uncomfortably in The Mafu Cage (1978), a study of women in close quarters that manages to make Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) look quaint. Karen Arthur’s lurid, homoerotic horror film stars Lee Grant as a female astronomer who’s forced to manage the unpredictable eruptions of her unhinged sister (Carol Kane). The girls’ primatologist father left them a pet ape for company--one of many details that go a long way in explaining the sisters’ strange behavior. Kane nevertheless proves that insanity can be sexy by splashing gleefully in the tub and giving Grant a seductive massage in a couple of choice scenes.