Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Monkey (2025)

Now that The Monkey has proven to be a critical and commercial hit, Final Destination Bloodlines has even more to prove. The Monkey might be an adaptation of Stephen King’s story of the same name, but the anarchic horror-comedy has another obvious inspiration. The Monkey’s many bloody deaths owe a creative debt to the Final Destination franchise, a series of slashers wherein the Grim Reaper sets up elaborate, grisly deaths for the survivors of major catastrophes who were supposed to die earlier.

The Monkey’s plot follows Hal and Bill Shelbourne, a pair of twins who inherit a cursed toy monkey from their absent father. The monkey causes the death of a random individual every time its key is turned, resulting in some brutally gory fates that rival anything from the earlier supernatural horror franchise. The similarities between the King adaptation and the slasher series weren’t lost on viewers, and I myself wrote about how The Monkey could harm Final Destination’s upcoming reboot thanks to its similar story.

The Monkey Is A Lot Like A Final Destination Movie

The Monkey’s Style and Story Both Borrow A Lot From The Final Destination Franchise

Having seen The Monkey and noted its critical and commercial success, I’m more convinced than ever that The Monkey will set a high bar for Final Destination Bloodlines. The upcoming reboot Final Destination Bloodlines is set to arrive in cinemas in May and will be the franchise’s first outing since 2011’s ingenious Final Destination 5 brought the story of the series together with an elegant twist ending. While there are obvious differences between The Monkey and the Final Destination movies, their similarities would be impossible for Final Destination Bloodlines to ignore.

The Monkey is based on King’s story and its plot is not exactly the same, considering Bill and Hal can control when the monkey kills and the movie’s tone is much more broadly comedic. That said, in terms of theatrical horror movies, Final Destination remains the closest comparison with The Monkey, as noted by numerous critics and reviewers. The Monkey’s story feels very familiar as viewers spend the movie waiting to see who dies next and what ridiculous death they endure. Like the Final Destination movies, The Monkey neatly blends gore, horror, and comedy.

The Monkey Is What Final Destination Bloodlines Needs To Beat

Final Destination Bloodlines Must Come Up With Even Wilder Deaths

While The Monkey’s ending makes a sequel unlikely, Final Destination Bloodlines still needs to defeat The Monkey in terms of how unique/inventive/horrifying its deaths are. This is the main thing that the Final Destination franchise was known for, and it is something The Monkey did incredibly well. With a more comedic, cartoonish tone, The Monkey pulled off outlandish deaths like a cobra bursting out of the hole at a golf course.

However, the slippy tone of Perkins’ adaptations also allows for genuinely upsetting deaths, like the disturbing scene where Bill and Hal’s mother Lois dies of a “Boomerang aneurysm.” Final Destination Bloodlines will have a hard time coming up with death scenes that marry absurd black comedy, stomach-churning gore, and genuine emotional impact as well as The Monkey managed. However, this is the franchise’s strong suit, so Final Destination Bloodlines could manage to match The Monkey upon the reboot’s arrival in theaters.