Monkey Shines

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Monkey Shines

R

1988

1h 53m

Horror

Drama

Sci-Fi

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Popcornmeter

55%

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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

10/08/2018

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

11/26/2007

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

11/26/2007

3/4

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

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 13

3/4

One of Romero’s best non-zombie flicks.

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

Oct 15

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

08/09/2023

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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Harry H

02/01/2025

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

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Daniel C. M

10/05/2024

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

05/17/2024

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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júlio a

05/10/2021

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!

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11/02/2020

Monkey see, monkey doo doo.

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steve d

07/12/2020

Really stupid, one of the directors worst.

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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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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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