Monkey Shines

After a traffic accident leaves him quadriplegic, law student Allan Mann struggles with depression and a life that now depends entirely on other people. A scientist friend working on intelligence enhancement in primates gives him a capuchin monkey named Ella, trained by specialist Melanie Parker to assist him with daily tasks. Ella proves remarkably capable, even anticipating Allan's needs, and a bond forms between Allan and Melanie. The monkey's altered intelligence, however, comes with a possessive attachment to Allan, and her behavior turns increasingly dangerous toward anyone she sees as a threat to their relationship, acting on his darkest impulses.

George A. Romero directed and wrote the screenplay, and the film was produced by Charles Evans for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Orion Pictures. It is the eighth of the fourteen features Romero directed, following Day of the Dead in 1985 and preceding Two Evil Eyes in 1990. Jason Beghe plays Allan, with John Pankow as Geoffrey Fisher, Kate McNeil as Melanie Parker, Joyce Van Patten as Dorothy Mann, Christine Forrest as Maryanne Hodges and Stephen Root as Dean Burbage among a credited cast of twenty-nine. Released on July 29, 1988, it runs 113 minutes and mixes drama, horror, science fiction and thriller elements.

The production had a budget of seven million dollars and returned about five million at the worldwide box office. On IMDb and TMDB, audience scores sit at 6.3 out of 10 from 375 votes on TMDB, while a critics' rating of 5.4 out of 10 comes from thirty-two reviews, a lower figure than the audience average.