“Monkey Shines” is a sci-fi/horror from director George A. Romero (“Dawn of the Dead”, “The Crazies”). It definitely has a bit of “Re-Animator” feel to it along with some elements from “Rear Window”. I think parts of it are entertaining but the problem is that the film is just too darn long with way too much going on.

After a terrible accident, Allan (Jason Beghe “G.I. Jane”) becomes a quadriplegic. To help cope with his new physical state, his scientist friend (John Pankow “To Live And Die In L.A.”) decides to give him helper monkey Ella (Boo). However, this is no ordinary helper monkey as it has been experimented on.

Jason Beghe does a reasonable job as Allan. John Pankow is okay as Geoffrey. However, the star of the show is of course Boo as Ella. This monkey performer is pretty amazing as we see it carry out all forms of tasks. The sounds for the monkey were provided by Frank Welker, who is best known for his portrayal of Megatron in the original “Transformers”. The relationship that develops between Allan and Ella is initially quite heart-warming but it becomes rather intense by the end. The final confrontation between the two is hilarious.

“Monkey Shines” has some ridiculous scenes and lines of dialog dotted throughout but it also has more serious and tender moments. It seems like there was no clear decision about the tone of the movie. There are way too many plot elements in here and this movie could have been saved in the editing room. By far the most absurd plot point has to be the paranormal connection between Allan and Ella, which should have definitely been scrapped. If you are a big fan of George A. Romero then maybe you will like this and I can safely say that I enjoyed this one more than some of his zombie movies.