Summary
Anyone expectingThe Monkeyto faithfully adapt theStephen Kingstory of the same name should have known better from the moment they saw the film’s poster. Where King describes the titular toy as holding two cymbals, the monkey on the movie poster holds in its hands two drum sticks, with a snare in front of his stomach.
One might argue that the difference between musical instruments makes little to no difference. Whether banging a drum or clanging cymbals, when the monkey starts to work, people die in mysterious ways. But the visual is just one of many changes inThe Monkey, preparing audiences for a movie that takes surprising liberties with King’s story. The result is a unique approach to themes of tragedy and the fear of death.
What Happens in Stephen King’s “The Monkey”?
The standout entry in the1980 collectionSkeleton Crew, “The Monkey” focuses on a fearful New Englander named Hal Shalburn. While cleaning up the childhood home where he lived with his Uncle Will and Aunt Ida, Hal’s son Petey discovers a toy monkey in the attic. Hal’s sudden reaction frightens his wife Terry and older son Dennis, exacerbating tensions already in place because of the elder child’s adolescence and Hal’s recent career failures.
Hal recalls his first encounters with the monkey as a child. In his flashback, after finding the monkey in his father’s belongings, Hal repairs the key and winds it up. At the very same time that the monkey smashes its cymbals together, Hal’s beloved babysitter dies in a freak accident. Very soon, Hal realizes the connection between the monkey’s playing and other mysterious deaths, including those of his best friend, his dog, and even his mother. Every time that Hal tried to get rid of the monkey, it simply reappeared to taunt him again.
Thereturn of the toyin Petey’s hands forces Hal to take drastic action. Hal’s fear drives a deeper wedge between him and Terry and Dennis, but it brings him and Petey closer together. Remembering his Uncle Bill’s story about the deep abyss at the center of Crystal Lake, Hal stuffs the monkey in a weighted bag and rows to the middle of the lake to dispose of the monkey. Supernatural forces attempt to thwart Hal, tearing apart the boat as he rows and even threatening Petey on shore. Yet, Hal manages to throw the monkey into the deep.
In the final paragraphs of the story, a news report mentions dying fish and potential tragedies, suggesting that the monkey lives on.
How Does the Movie “The Monkey” Change From the Short Story?
In addition to moving the main story to the present day, the most obvious difference between “The Monkey” and directorOsgood Perkins’smovieThe Monkeyis its treatment of Hal and Bill. In this version, Bill’s still older, but just by seconds, as the two are identical twins (both portrayed by Theo Vonn). They’re raised by a deeply cynical mother (Tatiana Maslany), whose bitterness against their missing father (Adam Scott) leads to Bill constantly bullying Hal.
Hal and Bill find the monkey together, and while Bill dismisses it, Hal is mesmerized. He winds up the toy, but it doesn’t work. At least, not until Bill and Hal are at a hibachi restaurant with their babysitter Annie. When the monkey pounds the drum, the hibachi chef’s knife comes loose, beheading Annie.
As in the story, Hal is terrified by the power of the monkey. But in the movie, Bill’s constant bullying pushes him to the brink. In a moment of anger, he intentionally winds up the monkey and sets it off, hoping it will kill his brother. Instead, the monkey’s drum leads to an aneurysm in his mother, the same grotesque death that befalls the dog in the story. Hal goes on to live with his Uncle Chip (Perkins), a gross slimeball, unlike the loving patriarch of the story, who soon dies his own strange death.
It’s here that the film fully departs from the story. Audiences meet Hal as an adult, not as a family man with a career in technology, but a loner who works a retail job. Worried about losing everything again, Hal leaves in total isolation from his son Petey (Colin O’Brien) and his ex-wife Terry (Laura Mennell). Hal only sees Petey once a year, on the boy’s birthday, hoping that distance will protect the kid.
But after the monkey activates and kills his Aunt Ida (Sarah Levy), Hal decides to investigate. And when he learns that Terry plans to marry her boyfriend (Elijah Wood, appearing in a hilarious cameo) and officially adopt Petey, Hal agrees to take his son along for one last trip as a father.
During the investigation, Hal discovers the true source of the monkey’s return: his brother Bill, who still hates Hal for killing their mother. Knowledge of the monkey has broken Bill’s mind and he now worships the toy. Bill believes that holding the toy means that he’ll never die, and he continues winding up the monkey in hopes that he can kill Hal. Instead, Bill kills nearly everyone in the town, until he accidentally causes his own absurd demise.
What is Significant About the Differences Between the Story and the Movie?
The biggest difference betweenKing’s storyand the Perkins movie is the tone taken by the respective creators. King gives Hal a relatable fear of death, making him feel human, even when dealing with an evil magical toy monkey. Conversely, Perkins makesThe Monkeyinto a wild black comedy, framing each of the deaths asLooney Tunesgags with lots of blood.
However, despite the tonal changes, both versions ofThe Monkeycome to the same point. They’re both about the absurd lengths to which people go when trying to avoid dealing with death. “The Monkey” goes for pure horror, complete with Hal imagining the toy’s mocking monologs.The Monkeygoes for gross-out comedy, with people exploding like bloody balloons. And both versions of the story are impossible to forget.
