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Monkey Shines

Play trailer Poster for Monkey Shines R 1988 1h 53m Horror Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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55% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 41% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Athlete Allan (Jason Beghe) becomes quadriplegic after a horrific traffic accident. His friend Geoffrey (John Pankow), who is conducting experiments with monkeys, offers Allan a well-trained monkey named Ella to keep him company and raise his spirits. But the initially healthy bond, which even enables Allan to form a romantic relationship with Melanie (Kate McNeil), gradually disintegrates once Ella begins to channel Allan's underlying rage and takes it out on his loved ones.
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Monkey Shines

Monkey Shines

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Critics Consensus

While not one of horror legend George Romero's more evolved efforts, Monkey Shines delivers enough primal fear to satisfy more forgiving genre enthusiasts.

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Critics Reviews

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Anton Bitel Little White Lies before its disappointing dénouement, Monkey Shines is a very tense thriller concerned precisely with one man's struggle to tame his older, wilder instincts. Oct 8, 2018 Full Review Variety Staff Variety A befuddled story about a man constrained from the neck down told by a director confused from the neck up. Nov 26, 2007 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader One of George Romero's most effective and interesting horror thrillers. Rated: 3/4 Nov 26, 2007 Full Review Alan Jones Radio Times Intense yet surprisingly tender, Romero's confident and uncompromising chiller is an intelligent nail-biter that takes a highly unusual look at the warped laws of the jungle one man must combat to survive. Rated: 4/5 Oct 15, 2025 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Fortunately, the actors tend to take the material seriously, despite its obvious design around improbable stretches for the sake of thrills. Rated: 4/10 Aug 9, 2023 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) The film most exhilarating film since Jaws. [Full review in Spanish] Jun 23, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Harry H All the makings, all the trimmings. I know Harper popped during the “golden” ending. Phile! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/09/25 Full Review Daniel C. M A personal favorite of mine. While the runtime may be a little too long, and there are some questionable and very dumb (even for this kind of movie) script choices, like the whole neural connection thing; it's still a solid piece of a proto-slasher. The Capuchin is no doubt the best actress here; very solid and convincing performance. The direction by Romero himself is good, with a special highlight to the POV shots and the whole final sequence that manages to create enough suspense. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/05/24 Full Review Jarrod R Some compelling choices from the filmmaker as well as performances against a fairly ridiculous plot. The last 25 minutes are -- let's say - something: Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/17/24 Full Review sean s I saw this movie when it came out in 1988. I thought it was above average then. I recently watched it again, and it has held up pretty well for what it is. The forgotten paraplegic m. diving scene with the excited monkeys squeaking in the background was somewhat awkward though at my age. Ha. Still kind of a strange and funny movie. The actress who played the clinging mother was great also. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review júlio a Nossa, li a resenha desse filme, e lembrei que já tinha assistido a muito muito tempo atrás. Nem sabia que era do Romero na época, caramba! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Monkey see, monkey doo doo. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Monkey Shines

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Cast & Crew

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George A. Romero

Director

Jason Beghe

Allan Mann

John Pankow

Geoffrey Fisher

Kate McNeil

Melanie Parker

Joyce Van Patten

Dorothy Mann

Christine Forrest

Maryanne Hodges

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Monkey Shines

Monkey Shines (1988) Monkey Shines (1988) Monkey Shines (1988) Monkey Shines (1988) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Athlete Allan (Jason Beghe) becomes quadriplegic after a horrific traffic accident. His friend Geoffrey (John Pankow), who is conducting experiments with monkeys, offers Allan a well-trained monkey named Ella to keep him company and raise his spirits. But the initially healthy bond, which even enables Allan to form a romantic relationship with Melanie (Kate McNeil), gradually disintegrates once Ella begins to channel Allan's underlying rage and takes it out on his loved ones.
Director
George A. Romero
Producer
Charles Evans
Screenwriter
George A. Romero
Distributor
Orion Pictures, Image Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp.
Production Co
Orion Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Horror, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 29, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.8M
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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