Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Monkey (2025)
I’m delighted that The Monkey turned Stephen King’s original short story into a straight-up comedy since this made the horror movie both more surprising and more unexpectedly emotionally resonant. The Monkey’s twist ending is a big change from the short story of the same name from Stephen King’s collection “Skeleton Crew,” but it is not the only change that director Oz Perkins’ movie makes to the source material. By Perkins’ own admission in an interview with Empire, the Longlegs director took plentiful liberties while adapting the short story to the big screen.
The Monkey’s story of two brothers feuding over a cursed toy monkey that kills people whenever its key is turned is loosely based on King’s story. However, the toxic relationship between twins Bill and Hal Shelbourne, as well as The Monkey’s many bloody deaths, are unique to the movie adaptation. In the story, the deaths that the toy causes are often quietly gruesome, but easily pᴀssed off as tragic acts of God. In the movie, sH๏τguns left in closets splatter people all over rooms and hornets pout out of their nests into an unfortunate supporting character’s mouth.
Oz Perkins Wisely Turned The Monkey Into A Comedy
Stephen King’s Original Short Story Is Played Completely Straight
As implied by the above descriptions, The Monkey is an absurd horror comedy whereas King’s story is a far more self-serious sort of horror. By Perkins’ own admission, the adaptation was originally set to be a more straightforward horror movie. Per the director, “They [James Wan’s production company Atomic Monster] had a very serious script. Very serious. I felt it was too serious, and I told them: ‘This doesn’t work for me.’” Instead, Perkins went with a tone he describes as “Cartoonish horror splatter,” citing Richard Donner, John Landis, and Sam Raimi as influences.
The Monkey’s many deaths might be very silly, but Hal and Bill’s shared epiphany about facing life with a smile despite the inevitability of death is genuinely moving.
I’m so glad that The Monkey changed King’s story completely, since the original tale is too slight to sustain an entire movie’s runtime without its tongue firmly planted in cheek. Adding in outrageous Final Destination-style death scenes and the uproarious rivalry between Bill and Hal keeps proceedings lively, but it also allows Perkins to sneak in some unexpected poignancy as The Monkey reaches its conclusion. By the time the two brothers are reunited, both Hal and Bill realize they have allowed their mother’s untimely death to define their lives in the decades since.
The Monkey’s Comedy Elevates And Redefines The Story
Perkins’ King Adaptation Becomes A Thoughtful Meditation On Grief
The Monkey’s many deaths might be very silly, but Hal and Bill’s shared epiphany about facing life with a smile despite the inevitability of death is genuinely moving. In a more conventional horror, Death’s appearance in The Monkey’s ending could be a trite metaphor or a pretentious attempt at profundity. However, thanks to The Monkey’s madcap tone and absurd story, this twist feels surprisingly life-affirming.
It is unlikely that many viewers will be able to relate to the cavalcade of cartoonish misfortune that rains down on anyone near Bill and Hal. However, every viewer’s life will eventually be touched by grief, and Perkins even noted that his own experiences with losing loved ones helped shape The Monkey’s story. As surprising as it may sound, turning the dour Stephen King story into a raucous horror-comedy allowed Perkins to make The Monkey a celebration of fleeting, imperfect life as well as a hysterically gory story about death.
Source: Empire
