The Monkey: A Chilling Tribute to Horror’s Ultimate Franchise

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Right now, you can catch “The Monkey” in theaters. Although it’s based on Stephen King’s cherished short story, this film also traces the path of a legendary horror movie series that stands among the greatest.

Back in the year 1980, I stumbled upon a chilling tale titled “The Monkey” in the hallowed pages of Gallery magazine. Fast forward to 1985, and this spine-tingling story found its place among the macabre masterpieces in Stephen King’s collection, Skeleton Crew, where it continues to send shivers down readers’ spines, including mine.

The narrative centers around a wind-up monkey figure that Hal Shelburn discovers in his father’s possessions during his youth. It isn’t long before Hal understands that whenever he engages with the toy and its cymbals collide, someone meets their demise. This curse haunts him throughout his adult life.

Essentially, the plotline of the film “The Monkey” by director Osgood Perkins remains similar, but there’s a significant twist – a key detail that sets it apart. To elaborate on this distinction, let’s delve into some spoilers…

(Note: The following explanation contains major spoilers for the movie “The Monkey”. Proceed with caution if you haven’t watched the film.)

In the original story, the main character is revealed to be in a mental institution at the end of the film. However, in this version, it turns out that the entire narrative was actually the hallucination or dream of a patient in the same mental institution, which adds a layer of complexity and ambiguity to the tale.

Final Destination walked so The Monkey could run

In the film version of “The Monkey,” the deaths are more surprising, bizarre, and intricately designed compared to the original narrative. This gives the movie a sense of resembling a sequel from the “Final Destination” series rather than an adaption of a story by Stephen King.

For those not familiar, Final Destination stands out among horror film franchises as one of the top contenders, if not the ultimate best. While Nightmare on Elm Street is known for its fantastical elements, with Freddy Krueger’s dream activities resulting in some extremely creative visuals, and Scream is built around a mystery, keeping viewers guessing about the identity of the killer until the end, Final Destination leverages the concept of death to deliver chilling experiences.

The reason for this is that the antagonist in the FD films is none other than the Grim Reaper, targeting individuals who manage to evade their destined demise during the initial scenes. For instance, in the first film, it was the passengers from a plane crash who were subsequently eliminated one by one. In the second, those who miraculously survived a highway crash were targeted. And in the third, it was the riders on a rollercoaster whose lives were cut short after an unexpected derailment.

Death doesn’t just use a straightforward method such as a gunshot or stabbing. Instead, it often involves intricate and deadly sequences reminiscent of Rube Goldberg machines. These scenarios typically unfold in various locations like kitchens, gyms, bathrooms, or tanning salons. Each object plays a part in setting off a series of events that ultimately leads to the person’s untimely death.

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How The Monkey movie differs from Stephen King’s short story

In the King short story, it’s not about unlikely occurrences. Instead, characters meet untimely ends through falls from treehouses, car collisions with intoxicated drivers, or gunshots from their partners. These incidents are undeniably tragic events, but they’re hardly accidents of chance.

In a similar vein to the movie Final Destination, the plot unfolds in an unexpected and gruesome manner. For instance, at the beginning, Hal’s father attempts to sell a cursed item in a thrift store. The shopkeeper expresses skepticism towards his story, which proves fatal as it triggers a series of events leading to the shopkeeper receiving a harpoon through his stomach, with his intestines attached, and eventually expelling them from his body.

Subsequent bizarre fatalities ensue. A cooling system accidentally falls into a puddle, charging the water, causing a woman who was swimming in a neighboring pool to receive an electric shock upon entering, resulting in a violent explosion when she immersed herself.

The most intricate demise unfolds with fish hooks and rubbing alcohol, escalates to a gas leak and fire, and concludes when death is brought about by a ‘for sale’ sign. My preferred scenario involves a gun, a vehicle, an annoying hat, and swarms of bees.

In the story, it’s only Hal’s mother’s death that truly corresponds, and this happens due to a brain embolism. In the movie, it’s a “boomerang aneurysm” instead. However, even this passing has an extra painful twist.

The end product is a faithful Stephen King adaptation that playfully explores the spooky theme, interwoven with narratives of missing parents and inherited emotional wounds. However, the film’s most captivating moments are arguably the thrilling murder scenes, transforming The Monkey into an enjoyable horror movie, but exceptionally so for fans of Final Destination.

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2025-02-21 15:19