The Monkey, a fresh feature-length adaptation of Stephen King by Longlegs director Osgood Perkins, has made its debut – and it’s a gory, laugh-out-loud genuine trip.
This film, based on the horror writer’s short story of the same title, features Theo James as estranged siblings Hal and Bill (with young Hal and Bill portrayed by Christian Convery), who are haunted by a wind-up monkey toy that they inadvertently inherited from their father. It’s reminiscent of a Final Destination-style adventure filled with enough gore and horror to connect it to classic ‘80s slasher films.
Much unfolds by the end, so we’ve compiled this brief overview to address any lingering queries you may have. Warning: significant spoilers for The Monkey lie ahead, so avoid scrolling down unless you’ve already watched the latest horror-comedy or, of course, intentionally want to spoil the ending for yourself…
The Monkey Ending Summary
In a catch-22 situation twist (which varies significantly from the original short story), it is revealed that Hal’s alienated twin brother Bill is behind all the mysterious fatalities in their hometown. He confesses to Hal that, after Hal initially discarded the monkey, Bill realized it was his brother who had “killed” their mother during their childhood – having activated the toy’s mechanism. Bill delved back into the well where Hal had thrown it to retrieve it, but it was already missing. Thus, he spent the remainder of his life waiting for its return, hoping that he could leverage the monkey to kill Hal. Fortunately, the one who winds it up never perishes, but as the film consistently emphasizes, the monkey “doesn’t take requests”…
Following Aunt Ida’s death, the monkey is sold to a local punk named Ricky, who subsequently offers it to Bill. Within his creepy, rigged-up residence, Bill invites Hal to return to town and sift through Aunt Ida’s belongings. With Hal nearby, Bill begins to wind the monkey, hoping it will target him next – but instead, people around him begin to die in bizarre, unexplainable ways. Bill wants Hal’s son Petey to wind the monkey, believing it might trigger the monkey to kill Hal, but instead, it kills Ricky by releasing a swarm of hornets directly into his mouth.
When Hal and Bill ultimately confront each other, Bill reveals that he knew Hal was winding it because he had intended him to perish – and it was merely an unfortunate mix-up that led to their mother, Lois (Tatiana Maslany), being caught in the chaos. Hal expresses remorse for unintentionally causing their mother’s death and for not being there during their childhood, offering an olive branch and proposing that they reconcile and confront their issues as adults. However, moments later, one of Bill’s traps malfunctions, sending a bowling ball, engraved with their mother’s name, crashing through his head. (Though the monkey may not heed requests, it appears to take offense when being choked and threatened).
Recognizing that the fatalities are now random and relentless, Hal resolves to keep an eye on the monkey, and he and Petey drive through a now partly ablaze town. Vowing never to allow anyone to wind it again, the duo passes a bus full of cheerleaders, who are abruptly decapitated by a passing truck. It seems the monkey has a considerably longer list of victims than they initially realized…
Who perishes in The Monkey?
The Monkey sees a plethora of deaths. If we’re summarizing the main fatalities: Hal and Bill’s babysitter, their mother Lois, their Uncle Chip, Aunt Ida, Ricky, and Bill himself. We can also infer that Hal and Bill’s father Petey met his end as well, though we primarily only see him flee after removing the monkey in the film’s chilling opening scene.
The babysitter, Annie Wilkes – a subtle reference to King’s Misery – is decapitated in a teppanyaki restaurant; Chip (played by Osgood Perkins himself) is trampled by a herd of wild horses while sleeping in a tent during a camping trip, and Aunt Ida accidentally sets her head on fire (and collides with a conspicuous ‘For Sale’ sign) after getting too close to the stove. Lois’s demise is particularly striking, as she simply begins to bleed from her eyes and ears before collapsing in the Shelburne kitchen.
Various other anonymous fatalities include parachuting into a building, an accidental gut extraction, an espresso machine explosion, choking on a vape pen, and a cobra lurking on a golf course.
Do Hal and Bill break the curse?
Technically speaking, the monkey acts as a cursed toy, but the film doesn’t clarify if it actually curses Hal and Bill. Rather, the conclusion revolves less around the twins liberating themselves from that curse and more about them learning to manage it.
Consequently, Hal and his son Petey decide to keep the monkey at the end of the film, possibly leaving it up to fate as to whether it will strike again, effectively deeming themselves its unofficial guardians.
How does it differ from the Stephen King short story?
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