Warning: Major spoilers ahead for The Monkey!The Monkey is best known for its comedic deaths, but one tragic demise was played entirely seriously. Based on Stephen King’s short story, the movie is a 98-minute display of blood and horror. Led by Theo James (Hal and Bill), The Monkey‘s cast includes Tatiana Maslany (Lois), Colin O’Brien (Petey), director Osgood Perkins (Chip), and more. Most of its characters are killed by the тιтular cursed toy in bizarre and funny ways, but one death manages to have emotional weight. Lois’ aneurysm was designed to devastate audiences.
In an interview with Total Film, Maslany walked through everything that made her character’s death so devastating. Rather than attempting to make audiences laugh, Perkins elected to ensure “a different feeling” altogether. It was all done in order to ensure that Lois’ death would be believable as a guiding force in Bill’s life. Check out Maslany’s quote below:
The two parts of the movie feel quite different, yeah. It’s sort of like that great thing that that movie Barbarian did, where it was like, “Oh, we’re in a whole different thing” suddenly. That’s definitely how I experienced it, watching like an audience member. It was so fun to see this other side; the consequences of their childhood, the ways that they have stayed themselves and ossified. They’re stuck even though they’re adult men at this point. Something happening and, you know, them not being able to get past that is interesting. It’s like the wonderful trope of, like, ‘the buried thing is gonna emerge‘, you know? The thing that you push down is only come forward 1,000% stronger. It’s the lesson of Lois; of facing it and accepting it and there’s nothing you can do – the thing that they struggle for. Oh my god. Her run-on sentence of a death? It’s like a novel, it’s so good. She does so much with no words in this movie. Like, she’s so physically adept. She’s just incredible. No, it was really fun to watch those [deaths] but, definitely, when we sH๏τ the death scene for Lois – we sH๏τ it a couple times – it had such a different feeling. We were all like, “This has to break your heart instead of make you laugh.”
What Lois’ Death Meant For The Monkey
It Was A Rare Moment Of Genuine Gravity
Many of the deaths in The Monkey can best be described as slapstick. Aunt Ida, in particular, has an utterly absurd death. In the middle of her daily routine, she falls onto fishhooks before accidentally being lit on fire. That level of absurdity is what made The Monkey‘s reviewers react positively, as every review highlights the humor. ScreenRant‘s Mae Abdulbaki described it as “practically gleeful in what it gets away with and adds.” While Abdulbaki and other reviewers yearned for more seriousness at times, Lois’ death was exactly what they were looking for.
The death occurs during an unconventionally long and running scene, in which Lois suffers a painful aneurysm. Blood leaks from her eyes, while she screams in pain. Compared to deaths by a bowling ball, a swarm of bees, and trampling, it was legitimately grounded in reality. Lois’ death felt like something that could have happened with or without the toy’s involvement. Everything else was patently absurd, but Lois’ death was especially tragic. It provided a weight that made Bill’s obsession with the toy completely understandable.
Our Take On Lois’ Tragic Death
The Movie Would Have No Emotional Weight Otherwise
If Lois’ death had even a hint of comedy, then the entire movie would have been a disaster. The horror elements would have fallen short, because it would be nothing more than a comedy of errors. The Monkey ensured that it could maintain an emotional impact by building on the weight of her death. It is tragic, painful, and devastating for all parties involved. Hal, Bill, and the average viewer can all feel genuine sadness. The movie could have certainly used a few more moments of solemnity, but Lois’ death was exactly what the narrative needed.
Source: Total Film
