''Monkey Shines'' (also known as ''Monkey Shines: An Experiment in Fear'') is a 1988 American
psychological horror
Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...
film written and directed by
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...
and starring
Jason Beghe
Jason Deneen Beghe (; born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Since 2014, he has starred in the NBC TV series ''Chicago P.D.'' as sergeant Hank Voight. He is also known for starring in the 1988 George A. Romero film '' Monkey Shines'', playin ...
,
Kate McNeil,
John Pankow
John Pankow (born April 28, 1954) is an American actor. He began his career on-stage in New York, in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway plays including Peter Shaffer's ''Amadeus'', John Patrick Shanley's ''Italian American Reconciliation,'' and ...
, and
Joyce Van Patten
Joyce Benignia Van Patten (born March 9, 1934) is an American film and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in films like ''The Bad News Bears'' (1976), ''St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985) (as Mrs. Beamish), and as Rob Schneider's septuagenaria ...
. Its plot follows a young athlete who becomes a paralyzed
quadriplegic
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...
, and develops a bond with an intelligent
service monkey named "Ella" who becomes homicidal after she is injected with an experimental serum of human
brain tissue
The human brain is the central organ of the human nervous system, and with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system. The brain consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. It controls most of the activities of the ...
. It is based on the 1983 British
novel of the same title by
Michael Stewart.
Producers
Peter Grunwald and
Charles Evans of
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...
acquired the rights to Stewart's novel in 1985, and began production two years later, with Romero assigned to direct. The film marked Romero's first major studio feature, and was his second-most expensive film at that time, with a budget of $7 million. The setting was changed from
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England, where the novel was set, to
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania, a city in which Romero had long resided and often set his films. Principal photography of ''Monkey Shines'' took place in Pittsburgh in the late summer and early fall of 1987. It had a protracted
post-production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
The ...
and editing process, as Romero shot more film than he had on any of his previous projects, particularly due to the use of live monkeys.
''Monkey Shines'' was released theatrically by Orion Pictures in July 1988, receiving mixed reviews and a lackluster box-office reception, grossing $5.3 million against its $7 million budget. In the intervening years, the film has been noted by critics as an offbeat entry in Romero's
filmography
A filmography is a list of films related by some criteria. For example, an actor's career filmography is the list of films they have appeared in; a director's comedy filmography is the list of comedy films directed by a particular director. The t ...
, and has earned status as a minor
cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
.
Plot
Law student and athlete Allan Mann is struck by a truck and rendered
quadriplegic
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...
following surgery. As his overbearing mother and strict nurse try helping him, Allan, now in a
SNP-equipped wheelchair, struggles to adjust. His friend, Geoffrey Fisher, suggests he get a
Capuchin monkey
The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fores ...
as a
service animal
Various definitions exist for a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term as "dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities". Dogs are the most common service animals, havi ...
to lift his spirits and help around the house. Geoffrey has an ulterior motive: he is a research scientist under pressure to produce results. Geoffrey has dosed a monkey in his lab with a serum to boost its intelligence, and believes the serum's effects will be amplified if the monkey is around humans.
Geoffrey enlists Melanie Parker, a specialist in training
helper monkeys. Geoffrey provides the Capuchin he has been experimenting on, claiming it is normal. Allan names the monkey Ella, and he and Melanie work closely training her. Initially, Ella is a huge help to Allan. Allan grows very close to Melanie.
Allan grows short-tempered and resentful. Ella, too, becomes aggressive. Allan dreams of running through the grass at night, and believes he has a
telepathic
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
link with Ella, whom he suspects can escape the house. Geoffrey finds evidence confirming this but, pleased with Ella's intelligence, does not tell Allan and Melanie. After the pet bird of Allan's nurse pesters him, Allan wishes it was dead - that night, Ella kills the bird and leaves it in the nurse's slipper; causing the nurse to quit.
Allan gets a second opinion about his paralysis and discovers he may have been misdiagnosed; another surgery may enable him to walk again. Before attempting the risky surgery, the doctor needs Allan to demonstrate some ability to move an appendage. Rather than feeling happy at this news, Allan is angry with his original surgeon, who may have purposely misdiagnosed him and is now dating Allan's former girlfriend. He fantasizes about burning the man's cabin down, and that night, Ella kills the surgeon and his girlfriend by burning down the cabin with a pack of stolen matches.
After seeing the fire in a vision and having it confirmed by his mother, the horrified Allan believes that Ella is carrying out his dark impulses. He also realizes that when he is around Ella, he becomes easily enraged. Allan demands that Geoffrey take Ella away. With Ella gone, Allan becomes more relaxed; he spends the weekend at Melanie's house and the two have sex.
Allan returns home and tries to mend bridges with his mother, but feels a burst of rage at her disapproval of Melanie. Allan realizes that Ella must be nearby. Allan's mother ignores his desperate warnings that she leave, and instead takes a bath. Ella kills her by dropping a hairdryer into the tub,
electrocuting her. Allan briefly answers a call from Melanie before Ella disables the phone; concerned, Melanie departs for Allan's house.
Geoffrey arrives and confesses that Ella was an experimental subject. The enraged Allan demands Geoffrey leave, upset at being used for an experiment yet concerned for his safety with Ella around. Instead, Geoffrey pursues Ella around the house; intending to
put her down with one of the
syringes
A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside ...
of
sodium pentobarbitone he has brought. Ella gets hold of one of the syringes and injects it into Geoffrey, killing him.
Ella returns to Allan, who is filled with self loathing because he believes that Ella is acting out his own impulses. He screams at Ella, but the monkey responds by
urinating on him. Melanie arrives and Ella attacks her. This convinces Allan that Ella is not simply carrying out his desires. Melanie falls and is knocked unconscious. As Allan rages at Ella, she ignores him and prepares to inject Melanie with one of Geoffrey's syringes. Allan calms himself and moves his right arm to engage his tape deck. As peaceful music plays he lovingly summons Ella to cuddle close to him, and she complies. When Ella comes near enough, Allan bites her on the neck and slams her body against the back of his wheelchair, killing her.
Allan undergoes successful spinal surgery. Melanie arrives at the hospital to pick him up, and Allan stands up from his wheelchair and gets into the van with her.
Cast
Analysis
Film scholar Tony Williams interprets ''Monkey Shines'' as a "complex film dealing with the ambiguous nature of human motivations," and humans' inability to deal with the consequences of their own desires.
Journalist Michael Wilmington notes that the film's thematic weight rests in the presentation of the antagonistic monkey, Ella: "The audience that rejects her as a little toy-terror--or the movie as a piece of icy misanthropy which perversely trashes women, animals and quadraplegics--misses the point. Watching this movie, one loves Ella, bleeds for her, wishes desperately to preserve her from harm. But hell and humanity carry their own demands."
[
]
Production
Development
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
had originally optioned Michael Stewart's novel, ''Monkey Shines'' (1983), for a film adaptation in 1984, having purchased the rights for $20,000. The option included film rights to another novel by Stewart, ''Far Cry'' (1984).[ However, seven months later, in 1985, the option expired, after which producer Charles Evans purchased the rights to the novel.][
Executive producer Gerald Paonessa commented that he had wanted ]George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...
to direct, as he felt he "had a wonderful, dark sense of humor." Romero was convinced to direct after being shown script treatments of the project.[
]
Filming
''Monkey Shines'' marked Romero's second feature film produced with a major studio, after 1982's ''Creepshow
''Creepshow'' is a 1982 American horror comedy anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King, making this film his screenwriting debut. The film's ensemble cast includes Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Le ...
'', as well as the second most-expensive.[ The production budget was approximately $7 million.][ The film was shot in ]Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, with principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
beginning on July 31, 1987.[ Romero, a longtime resident of Pittsburgh who set most of his prior films there, chose the location.][ Additional filming occurred at the ]Mellon Institute
The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research is a former research institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, which is now part of Carnegie Mellon University. It was founded in 1913 by Andrew Mellon and Richard B. Mellon as part of the Un ...
at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
, as well as a private barn in Murrysville, which was converted into the monkey training center which Melanie operates. Interiors of Allan's house were constructed by set designer Cletus Anderson, a longtime collaborator of Romero's.
The film's shooting schedule was extensive, consisting of twelve-hour days.[ Romero's wife and assistant, Christine (who also appears in the film) commented that it was the "toughest shoot we've ever had."][ For filming Boo, the capuchin monkey portraying Ella, Romero required multiple monkey doubles.][ Additionally, four ]puppet
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
s of the monkey were designed by Tom Savini
Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin'' ...
, one of which was remote-controlled, each adorned with yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...
fur.[ Helping Hands, a service animal program from ]Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, assisted with the monkeys featured in the film.[ Filming concluded in October 1987.][
]
Post-production
At the time of filming, Romero commented that "Post-production on this will be very heavy. I hope to be finished by the end of March. It's a huge edit. I'm shooting more film than I ever have because of the monkeys... As our budgets grow, everything takes longer."[ The film's distributor, Orion Pictures, was desperate for a hit, as it was in financial difficulty. First, the studio forced Romero to add a happy ending to the picture, a plot device which the director had long avoided in favor of more ambiguous endings; originally, Romero had intended to conclude the film in the same manner as its source novel, in which Allan does not recover from his accident. Second, after poor previews, the studio recut the film without Romero's knowledge to add a "shock" ending.
Another issue was the film's overall length, as Romero had completed a very long and involved shooting script that numbered over 240 pages. This resulted in a first cut of which 40 to 50% of the shot footage met the cutting room floor in the need to get the film reduced to a practical length. Upset with the way his project had been handled, Romero returned to independent films.
;Alternate ending
The original intended ending of the film was unreleased until 2014, when it was included as a bonus feature on its debut ]Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
release. In the original ending, prior to Dorothy and Geoffrey's deaths, Geoffrey's boss Dean Harold Burbage (Stephen Root
Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom ''NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Stricklan ...
) steals the remaining brain tissue serum and injects it into all of Geoffrey's remaining test monkeys. After Allan regains his ability to move on his own, Burbage is assaulted by animal rights protesters who had earlier attacked Geoffrey for experimenting on monkeys. Burbage insults them then returns to the lab where it's discovered that all of the remaining monkeys have completely taken control of his mind.
Release
Box office
''Monkey Shines'' was released theatrically in the United States on July 29, 1988, opening in 1,181 theaters. It grossed $1.9 million during its opening weekend.[ It eventually went on to gross a total of $5.3 million in the United States over its 22-week theatrical run.][
]
Critical response
Several critics praised ''Monkey Shines'' for its portrayal of its philosophical
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
themes: David Kehr of the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' heralded it as Romero's "most complex and challenging creations... omero'sis a style of philosophical fiction that seems hardly to belong to the 20th Century at all, but rather to the 18th Century school of Swift
Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to:
* SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks
** SWIFT code
* Swift (programming language)
* Swift (bird), a family of birds
It may also refer to:
Organizations
* SWIFT, ...
, Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...
and Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
. Like those authors, he uses satire as one of his principal tools and principal weapons," concluding that, "''Monkey Shines'' is an extremely thoughtful, provocative film; it's also a damn good horror movie."
Other critics, such as the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''s Michael Wilmington, commented on the film's characterization of Ella, and the relationship between her and Allan; comparing Ella to King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
, Wilmington noted: "The story’s dark pivot is the symbiosis
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
between Allan and Ella: a match made in hell. Ella, preternaturally sensitive to all her master’s desires, becomes infected with his hatreds--just as, in the lab, she’s been made addicted to a serum containing human brain tissue. It’s not a matter of the beast emerging against the human--but of humans perverting the beast." Richard Harrington of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' made similar observations about the character dynamic: "Alternating between comfort and revenge, llaseems the ultimate victim, an unwitting pawn. Her scenes with Beghe are at once tender and terrifying as they battle it out to see who's the boss. Some closeups make Ella seem as ferocious as King Kong, but at other times she looks as if she's just been kicked out of the Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
."
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
was less enthusiastic about the film, awarding it two and a half out of a possible four stars; the film's main flaw, wrote Ebert, was its being overlong with too many subplots: "Romero loses momentum in the closing passages because he has too many loose ends to keep track of. Somewhere within this movie's two hours or so is hidden an absolutely spellbinding 90-minute thriller." Caryn James of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' panned the film, writing that the screenplay "wraps up more loose ends than anyone cares about, yet leaves some nagging bits of illogic," also criticizing the film for its "calm, and tedious, exposition."
The film was met with criticism from some disability rights
The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities.
It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...
organizations such as ADAPT
ADAPT (formerly American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today) is a United States grassroots disability rights organization with chapters in 30 states and Washington, D.C. They use nonviolent direct action in order to bring about disability just ...
and Adapting Society, due to a depiction of a toy monkey in a wheelchair in initial promotional materials. Members of ADAPT formed a picket line in wheelchairs at the Hollywood Pacific Theater the Saturday of the film's opening weekend.[ Bill Bolte, a member of Adapt California, commented: "The idea of a monkey attendant turning into a monster is appalling."][ On August 10, Orion Pictures issued a public apology, removing the content from media advertisements for the film, promising to consult disability experts for promotional materials of upcoming projects.][
''Monkey Shines'' holds a 56% approval rating on the internet ]review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 32 critic reviews, with its consensus reading: "While not one of horror legend George Romero's more evolved efforts, ''Monkey Shines'' delivers enough primal fear to satisfy more forgiving genre enthusiasts." The film possesses a score of 71 on Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
based on 14 reviews. Contemporary film scholar John Kenneth Muir
John Kenneth Muir (born December 3, 1969) is an American literary critic. As of 2022, he has written thirty reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres.
Biography
Born ...
deemed ''Monkey Shines'' a "harrowing and fascinating film," and praised its realistic depiction of the monkey, Ella.
Several parodies exist, some notable examples are:
* The ''Malcolm in the Middle
''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes.
The series follows a dysfunctional ...
'' episode "Monkey"
* ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' episode "Girly Edition
"Girly Edition" is the twenty-first episode in the The Simpsons (season 9), ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States on April 19 ...
"
Home media
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
Home Entertainment released the film on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on September 28, 1999. Scream Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
released the film on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
for the first time in November 2014. In November 2019, Scream Factory announced this Blu-ray would be going out of print
__NOTOC__
An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book ...
in 2020.
Trailer poem
One of the trailers showed a toy monkey banging its cymbals while sitting in a wheel chair. This trailer is known for its poem.
:''Once there was a man whose prison was a chair. The man had a monkey; they made the strangest pair.''
:''The man was the prisoner; the monkey held the key. No matter how he tried, the man couldn't flee.''
:''Locked in his prison, terrified and frail; The monkey wielding power, keeping him in jail.''
:''The man tried to keep the monkey from his brain, but every move he made, became the monkeys game.''
:''The monkey ruled the man, it climbed inside his head. And now as fate would have it... One of them was dead!''
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{George A. Romero
1988 films
1988 horror films
1980s psychological thriller films
American natural horror films
1980s English-language films
Films about monkeys
Films about paraplegics or quadriplegics
Films based on British novels
Films based on horror novels
Films directed by George A. Romero
Films scored by David Shire
Films set in Pittsburgh
Films shot in Pittsburgh
Orion Pictures films
1980s American films