Movieo
Poster for Monkey Shines

Monkey Shines

Once there was a man whose prison was a chair. The man had a monkey, they made the strangest pair. The monkey ruled the man, it climbed inside his head. And now as fate would have it, one of them is dead.

1988 · 1h 53m · R Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
Directed by George A. Romero

Seen it?

Overview

A quadriplegic man is given a trained monkey help him with every day activities, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master and those who get too close to him.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
50%
Tomatometer
Rotten

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

Variety Staff, Variety
Fresh

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

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Fresh

Romero's is a formidable talent which others can only hope to ape.

Derek Adams, Time Out
Rotten

A film that begins in sentimentality and ends in ludicrous melodrama.

Caryn James, New York Times
Rotten

Somewhere within this movie's two hours or so is hidden an absolutely spellbinding 90-minute thriller.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Comments

Talk about the film with other members

More films