Monkey Shines (1988)

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 (novel), George A. Romero (screenplay)

Stars:

Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil

7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Beghe	...	Allan Mann
John Pankow	...	Geoffrey Fisher
Kate McNeil	...	Melanie Parker
Joyce Van Patten	...	Dorothy Mann
Christine Forrest	...	Maryanne Hodges
Stephen Root	...	Dean Burbage
Stanley Tucci	...	Dr. John Wiseman
Boo	...	Ella
Janine Turner	...	Linda Aikman
William Newman	...	Doc Williams
Tudi Wiggins	...	Esther Fry
Tom Quinn	...	Charlie Cunningham
Chuck Baker	...	Ambulance Driver
Patricia Tallman	...	Party Guest
David Early	...	Anesthetist

Storyline

When Allan becomes a quadriplegic he loses all hope for living until he meets Ella - a monkey trained to fetch and carry for him around the house, obeying him in all things. But Ella is part of another experiment, and when she starts responding to Allan's underlying rage and frustration she has the ability to carry out her master's darkest wishes.

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Plot Keywords:

woman on top | nudity | telephone call | wrapped in a towel | man wrapped in a towel | 

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Taglines:

An Experiment In Fear

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 July 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ella

Filming Locations:

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$5,344,577

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 105 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of the few films in cinema history to feature a male monkey.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 40 mins) Ella urinates on Allan as a sign of mating, but it's actually the male capuchin who urinates on its mate. This would suggest that Ella is in fact a male capuchin.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Allan Mann: [after waking up] Linda? I'm gonna go run.

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Crazy Credits

"Introducing Boo as Ella"

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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.

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Connections

Featured in An Experiment in Fear: The Making of Monkey Shines (2014)

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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 Reviews

Fun and original horror.

This is not your run-of-the-mill slasher film. This is a well developed, well-paced suspense-type horror. If what you like it lots of blood and cheap scares punctuated by incidental music, then you should skip this film. If you like a horror involving a few good characters, and a really talented monkey, then take a look. The tension builds slowly. There are a lot of interesting characters, who are neither "good guys" nor "bad guys" (this includes the killer). The acting is not all that great, but the script is solid. That the monkey may be the best performer in the b=cast says more about the monkey than the human castmembers!