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Monkey Shines: An Experiment In Fear Play Trailer

Monkey Shines: An Experiment In Fear (1988)

tomatometer

50

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

audience

41

liked it
Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 7,161

My Rating

Movie Info

A quadriplegic former athlete finds his darkest urges being acted out by an animal familiar in this psychological horror film. When Allan Mann (Jason Beghe) loses the use of his legs and arms in an accident, he becomes bitter -- no surprise given that his girlfriend dumps him for his surgeon, his new nurse (Christine Forrest) is a shrew, and his smothering mother (Joyce Van Patten) keeps threatening to move in and take care of him. Enter Kate McNeil (Melanie Parker), a scientist who is working

R,

Horror

Aug 14, 2001

MGM

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Monkey Shines: An Experiment In Fear Trailer & Photos

Critic Reviews for Monkey Shines: An Experiment In Fear

All Critics (26) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (13) | DVD (4)

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

November 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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

November 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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

August 30, 2004 Full Review Source: New York Times
Caryn James
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There was a time when Romero would have used these elements for pure shock effect, but the horrors in Monkey Shines are more internalized, which make them all the more scary.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Richard Harrington
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A brilliant realization of a mind awakening to its animal instincts, expressed in satirical Hitchcockisms

March 13, 2010 Full Review Source: CinePassion
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

This intelligent, effective thriller is one of [Romero's] best films.

June 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Terrifying psychological horror.

November 26, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A frightening and very effective psychological thriller.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's not illogicality that dooms Romero's thriller but rather torpid pacing and a distinct lack of scares.

July 3, 2005 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

Lurid but entertaining -- go bananas and splurge on a rental, at least.

January 2, 2005 Full Review Source: StaciWilson.com
Staci Layne Wilson
StaciWilson.com

Romero without zombies = boring.

July 15, 2004 | Comments (2)
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

Nothing special.

January 7, 2004 Full Review Source: sbs.is
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

Nothing to go ape over, that's for sure.

July 29, 2002
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
View all critic reviews (26)

Audience Reviews for Monkey Shines: An Experiment In Fear

View All
Disturbing, well executed horror yarn by master director George Romero, Monkey Shines is an accomplished film. With a great cast, and effective scares, this is a must see film for horror fans. What really stood out in this film was the performance of the monkey. That made the film very interesting and memorable. With a great script, and good cast, Monkey Shines is an underrated film that delivers some truly unique chills. This is yet another film that proves that George Romero is a capable director who is able to make other types of horror films. This is an engaging film that is truly entertaining from start to finish. The film does start off slow, but it grabs your attention from the first shot onwards. The film blends Slasher and psychological horror elements into one picture and there's a perfect balance between the two. The result is a film that is quite disturbing and chilling at the same time. This is among Romero's best works that is not a movie dealing with creatures of the undead. Underrated upon release, this is a film that doesn't deserve the flack it has received. This is an effective horror film that induces fear and manages to be an inventive, thrilling and memorable film that is sure to please diehard horror fans. George Romero delivers a truly unique and original film that is really good and deserves much more praise than what it got. If you want to see a different film from Romero, which a totally different change of pace, then give Monkey Shines a watch.
November 2, 2012
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

Preposterous but, because of a much better cast than this sort of picture usually has, a not unenjoyable scare pic. A few moments of unnecessary violence but mostly overall the tension comes from what is implied rather than shown.
August 27, 2007
jjnxn
jay nixon

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Monkey Shines (DE)
  • Monkey Shines (UK)
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