Summary
Whether people believe in human evolution or not, the fact is that monkeys, apes, gorillas, and so on look a lot like humans. That’s perhaps why they are fun companions to have in real life and movies, because they emulate human emotions so well. That is also why they can be unsettling, because they’re not quite there to be fully human, and that gap of understanding can create some awkwardness.
There have been many examples ofevil monkeys in movies, with Osgood Perkins’The Monkeybeing a prime example, but just how many more exist in the vast realm of cinema, and how do their evil deeds compare?
The Golden Compassisa movie adaptation of a bookfrom the largerHis Dark Materialsfranchise. It takes place in a parallel world to normal reality, ultimately focusing on a young girl named Lyra. Everyone in this world is born with a familiar that is attached to them through an invisible twine.
One of the film’s antagonists, Marissa Coulter, has a Golden Monkey as her family, which isn’t given a name in this movie, but it has since been dubbed Ozymandias in other material. Ozymandias does terrible deeds for Marissa in pursuit of an item Lyra has. It’s more threatening in the HBO show and, of course, in the books, but Ozymandias is still one truly threatening monkey inThe Golden Compass.
Jumanjiis either a fun family adventure movie, depending on when one sees it, or it isa terrifying horror-fest for kids. The titularJumanjiis a board game that Judy and Peter find in their new house. They hear it calling to them with rhythmic drum beats, much like the drumming inThe Monkey.
Once opened, the kids discover they are cursed to play this board game until completion, with their dice rolls affecting the real world. One of the most terrifying parts of the movie is when the monkeys break out and start causing havoc around town. Also, Peter gets cursed to look like a monkey in true body horror fashion, further adding to the fear these creatures can easily evoke from viewers.
Disney adaptedThe Jungle Bookinto a movie in 1967, and it became a classic for its era. One of the most infectious songs was “I Wanna Be Like You,” sung by King Louie. King Louie is an orangutan who wants the wild boy, Mowgli, to give him the gift of man’s fire. It’s a small part of the movie, and it’s more silly than anything else, as King Louie isn’t that big.
However, in the 2016 remake ofThe Jungle Book, King Louie is huge and looks unsettling, as the animators incorporated a bit of his voice actor, Christopher Walken, into his design. It makes himlook like aDark Soulsboss. This part of the movie is still relatively small, but it’s more memorable now than ever thanks to the destructive chase scene.
Monkey Shinesmay have a toy monkey on the cover resembling the model inThe Monkey. However, the two films are completely different. This one stars college student Allan, who becomes wheelchair-rider after an accident. This prompts his best friend, Geoffrey, to give him one of his test lab monkeys to complete tasks for Allan, whom they name Ella.
She’s a joy in Allan’s life, which had become quite grim. However, Ella soon begins to become too attached to Allan, acting out and killing people on his behalf. It’s kind of hard to believe that this tiny monkey could ever kill anyone, but it is a destructive little beast, to say the least.
Nopeis barely about monkeys, presenting itself primarily asan alien-based horror film. However, the film keeps cutting back to the set of a cheesy family sitcom calledGordy’s Home, which sees the titular chimpanzee Gordy being raised in an average American home.
One of the side characters, Ricky, used to be on that show. However, it’s later revealed that Gordy went ape one day, murdering many on set. ThoughNopeaims to focus mostly on the alien creature that plagues the protagonists from beginning to end, Gordy’s murder scene is easily one of the most memorable parts.
Congois another book by Michael Crichton,the creator ofJurassic Park. While not as successful, the movie adaptation still has its fans. The tale sees a group of researchers wanting to return a Gorilla that knows sign language, Amy, to the jungle. However, the adventuring guides that bring them have something more insidious in mind: finding an ancient city.
The Lost City of Zinj is said to contain powerful minerals called blue diamonds, and when the party finds them, they also discover that they are protected by Gray Gorillas. These apes stalk the party throughout the movie, too, and it all comes down to a big battle in the final scene of the film.
Dead Alive, also calledBraindead, is an early film directed by Peter Jackson, who rose to prominenceafter directing theLord of the Ringstrilogy. The movie opens with a group of adventurers leaving Skull Island with a Sumatran Rat Monkey encaged. This creepy monkey is then sold to a zoo in Newtown, a small town in New Zealand.
It gets another scene in the movie when the well-mannered but awkward Lionel takes his date Paquita to the same zoo. Lionel’s mother, Vera, stalks the two, jealous of their new love, and gets bitten by this monkey in the process, which turns her into a zombie. From here, it’s a trip to hell, with Vera and her zombie monkey-infused body being at the center of it all.
The Monkeyfeatures a great threat to humanity, a seemingly ordinary toy monkey who eventually turns out to be incredibly evil. It’s never given a name or an explanation as to where it came from. All there is to know is that it is tied to the Shelburn family, presumably being cursed to their lineage, with the movie opening with Captain Petey Shelburn,played bySeverance’s Adam Scott, trying to get rid of it, only for it to return.
When someone winds the key up, the monkey will play a beat. Shortly after, someone will die in a brutal way. There’s no rhyme or reason to the kills, and to make matters even worse, this thing appears to be immortal, so destroying it isn’t an option.
