Monkey Shines

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Monkey Shines

R

1988

1h 53m

Horror

Drama

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

55%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

40%

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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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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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Oct 8, 2018

before its disappointing dénouement, Monkey Shines is a very tense thriller concerned precisely with one man's struggle to tame his older, wilder instincts.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Nov 26, 2007

A befuddled story about a man constrained from the neck down told by a director confused from the neck up.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Nov 26, 2007

3/4

One of George Romero's most effective and interesting horror thrillers.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 13, 2025

3/4

One of Romero’s best non-zombie flicks.

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

Oct 15, 2025

4/5

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.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Aug 9, 2023

4/10

Fortunately, the actors tend to take the material seriously, despite its obvious design around improbable stretches for the sake of thrills.

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B P

@Bradster69 17 hrs ago

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Farah R.

@Farah Feb 17, 2026

It takes a mind like Romero’s to make a story like this work. There’s just enough drama, suspenseful, and cheesy 80s effects to make it entertaining. It’s not scary though, despite having some potential to earn its spot in the horror genre.

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Alexander R

@alexrivera93 Feb 15, 2026

Very disappointing film. No horror at all, just boring sentimental soap opera like drama and the ending was absurd.

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Harry H

@RT61704092 Feb 1, 2025

All the makings, all the trimmings. I know Harper popped during the “golden” ending. Phile!

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Daniel C. M

@RT91944882 Oct 5, 2024

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.

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Jarrod R

@RT27243469 May 17, 2024

Some compelling choices from the filmmaker as well as performances against a fairly ridiculous plot. The last 25 minutes are -- let's say - something:

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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

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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, Sci-Fi
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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