Monkey Shines

1988
R
1h 53m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

13K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer1:39

1 Video

99+ Photos

Drama Horror Sci-Fi Thriller

A quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.A quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.A quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.

Director
- George A. Romero
Writers
- Michael Stewart
- George A. Romero
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

13K

YOUR RATING

Director
- George A. Romero
Writers
- Michael Stewart
- George A. Romero
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 wins & 2 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 1:39

Monkey Shines

Photos146

+ 140

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
This was the first film role for Stephen Root, then a stage actor. According to Root, he had been instructed by his agent not to let the casting directors know that he was inexperienced with film as an actor. Root's official debut was Crocodile Dundee II (1988), which had been released in theaters a month before this film, despite being shot a month after it.

Goofs
Fisher incorrectly refers to performing an "autopsy" on Ella. An autopsy is performed on human remains. The correct term for examining animal remains postmortem is "necropsy". This is a common mistake for most people, one that Fisher would not make, given his profession.

Quotes
Geoffrey Fisher: You're a clinical cunt.

Crazy credits
"Introducing Boo as Ella"

Alternate versions
Earlier versions of Monkey Shines allegedly contained a bizarre brain surgery scene, as well as several abusive scenes involving the small monkey, Ellie. Although the scenes were all staged and no animals were harmed in the making of the movie, the filmmakers decided it would be better to simply leave them out to avoid conflicts.

Connections
Featured in Document of the Dead (1980)

Soundtracks
There'll Be Another Spring
Written by Peggy Lee and Hubie Wheeler
Performed by Peggy Lee
Courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc.
Under license from Capitol Special Markets

User reviews97

Review

Featured review

Underrated Romero film

This film has been described as a "horror film for people who don't like horror films." That's an apt description for this underrated psychological/supernatural thriller from Pittsburgh's master horror director, George A. Romero. To date, this is Romero's only studio film, and he had to make numerous compromises to the finished product. (The originally intended ending would have been a killer.) That said, the film still comes off as smart and sharp, with some very good casting. (John Pankow, recognizable from "Mad About You," is really excellent here, and there are nice early performances from Stephen Root, Stanley Tucci, and Janine Turner.) And check out the amazingly good editing in the last 10 minutes. Overall, while this is not first-tier Romero, it's a terrific little horror film.