The following contains spoilers for The Monkey, now playing in theatersThe Monkey has some very big differences from the short story that inspired it. Based on a short story by Stephen King of the same name, The Monkey is an expanded adaptation that takes the original idea and some of the characters from the original and modifies them into a wildly different plot. While they do follow the same general broad strokes about a cursed toy monkey that is followed by death and destruction, the actual plot and characters of The Monkey are radically different.
This allows the movie to embrace a more darkly comedic tone, with many of the film-only deaths given greater emphasis. This explores expands on the scope of Stephen King’s The Monkey, which also transforms supporting players from the short story into more important characters, including turning one of them into the movie’s overt villain. Here are the most notable differences between Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey and the short story that inspired it.
10
Hal Has One Son (And Is Married) In The Movie
Hal Is Far More Isolated In The Movie
One of the most prominent differences between the two versions of The Monkey is the status of Hal’s family. In the short story, Hal is married to Terry and they have two sons. While Dennis and Petey aren’t twins, they have a childishly tense relationship that is reflected in the way Bill treats Hal when they’re younger. In the short story, Hal is on largely good terms with his family, only lashing out when the Monkey is discovered. He also brings Petey along to dispose of the monkey willingly.
As of this writing, there have been over fifty cinematic adaptations of Stephen King’s writings.
This is in stark contrast to the version that appears in the film. Fearing that his contact with the Monkey has effectively cursed him and could doom anyone else in his orbit, Hal has isolated himself from the film’s equivalent to Terry, who is now married to Ted Hammerman. The pair only had one son, Petey, who Hal later reveals was the result of an accidental pregnancy. This allows the film to focus the emotional arc on Hal and Petey coming to terms with their relationship, especially after finding out Ted intends to formally adopt Petey.
9
Hal And Bill’s Father Is Different In The Movie Of The Monkey
The Elder Petey Gets An Entire Opening Sequence In The Movie Version Of The Monkey
In the original short story version of The Monkey, Bill and Hal’s father was largely absent. He isn’t even given a full name and is referenced as a merchant mariner who “simply disappeared” when they were young. Hal, who has no clear memory of the man, later hypothesizes if he could have been one of the Monkey’s many victims. The film gives more attention to their father, who is revealed to have been named Petey as well (seemingly inspiring Hal to name his own son after him).
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Now established as a commercial airline pilot who had a habit of bringing back souvenirs from his travels, the cold opening of the film focuses on Petey trying to bring the monkey to a pawn shop as a means of getting rid of it. This Petey is shown to have also believed in the curse of the Monkey and sought a way to combat it, similar to how Hal would later fight it. The film never reveals what happened to him either, but the last shot of the character is of him trying to destroy it with a flamethrower.
8
The Movie Gives The Monkey Another Potential Target Of The Curse
Ricky Isn’t In The Original Story
One of the ways The Monkey expands upon the plot of the original short story is by introducing a new group of minor characters who come into contact with the curse. In the original story, Hal and Petey locate the Monkey inside their home and move to get rid of it. In the film, the Monkey reappears in Aunt Ida’s home and, following her death is bought by a local teenager named Ricky. Ricky brings the Monkey to Bill but eventually reveals that he’s formed an unexpected connection with it and offers to buy it back from Bill.
Ricky has no clear analog in the original story, and his subplot ends up turning him into a direct foil for Hal and Bill…
When Bill refuses, Ricky becomes a secondary antagonist. He kidnaps Hal and Petey, hoping to use their family connection with Bill to convince him to get the Monkey. However, Ricky ends up becoming one of the victims of the curse, eventually having an entire nest of hornets fly into his mouth and burrow out of his body. Ricky has no clear analog in the original story, and his subplot ends up turning him into a direct foil for Hal and Bill by also making him the son of a disappeared Dad who becomes obsessed with the Monkey.
7
Bill Is A More Important Character (And The Villain) Of The Movie
Bill Doesn’t Get A Happy Ending In The Movie Version Of The Monkey
Bill is a relatively minor supporting character in the original short story. While he also remembers the Monkey from their childhood and suffered because of it, he never had the harshly antagonistic relationship with his brother that the film gives him. Bill has a much happier life in the short story. While in the original story Bill got married and opened a law firm, the movie version never got over the death of his mother. Realizing it was a result of Hal turning the key to the Monkey, Bill became obsessed with finding it and using it to take vengeance.
Bill and Hal are turned into twins for 2025’s The Monkey, with Theo James playing the adult versions of both characters.
This positions Bill as the true villain of the movie, as he eventually recovers the Monkey thanks to Ricky and begins to turn the key on its back frequently. Doing so fails to kill Hal, and instead results in several other deaths across the local town. Bill and Hal’s feud ends up becoming the core of the film’s finale, especially when Bill’s efforts to control the monkey more directly result in it banging the cymbals much harder. This results in countless more deaths, including his own.
6
Hal And Bill’s Mother Is More Prominent In The Film
Lois’ Influence Remains With Hal (And Her Memory Turns Bill Into A Villain)
Hal and Bill’s mother Lois is a far more prominent character in the film than in the short story, even if she dies in both versions of the story while her sons are still children. In the short story, Lois isn’t even given a formal name. Instead, she’s merely mentioned to have passed away while they were children, leading them to be taken care of by their Aunt Ida and Uncle Will. Ida and her husband Chip adopt the boys in the film, although they are quick to admit they may not be the best parents to the pair.
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In the film, Lois appears prominently in the first act as a well-meaning and loving single mother. Frustrated by her husband Petey’s disappearance, Lois never takes it out on her boys. She’s the one who teaches them the importance of accepting the inevitability of death and the decision to dance in defiance of it, leading to the ending of the film. She’s also expressly killed in the movie by the Monkey, suffering from a “boomerang aneurysm.” She died of a brain embolism in the short story, but was only implied to have been taken by the Monkey.
5
Hal And Bill’s The Babysitter Dies Differently
The Babysitter Died Away From Hal And Bill In The Short Story
In both versions of The Monkey, Hal and Bill have a babysitter who dies early on to showcase the dangerous potential of the Monkey. However, the nature of these deaths is very different. In the short story, Hal saw the Monkey banging its cymbals without prompting and later discovered that his babysitter Beulah had been killed in a shooting at the same time. It’s a tragic turn, one that the short story treats with complete seriousness.
The biggest difference is that Hal and Bill are present for this death, which indicates to them that the Monkey may have played a role in her demise.
By contrast, the grim comedy of the cinematic version of The Monkey plays out very differently. In the movie, their babysitter is Annie Wilkes. Annie takes the boys to Benihana for dinner one night, and is silently flirting with one of the chefs when an errant swipe of his knife accidentally beheads Annie. The biggest difference is that Hal and Bill are present for this death, which indicates to them that the Monkey may have played a role in her demise.
4
Hal And Bill’s Uncle Is More Important In The Short Story
Uncle Chip Is A Minor Character Compared To The Far Nicer Uncle Will
Following the death of Hal and Bill’s mother, they are taken in by their Aunt Ida in both versions of The Monkey. However, Ida’s husband Chip in the film is far different from Uncle Will, who is a major supporting figure in the short story. In the movie, Chip openly admits to Hal that he and Ida never wanted kids and is blunt about their status as swingers, but also tells him that they’ll do their best to take care of them. However, Chip doesn’t last long after that as he’s killed by the Monkey.
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Upcoming Stephen King Adaptions In 2025 |
Release Date |
|
The Monkey |
2/21/2025 |
|
The Running Man |
2025 |
|
The Long Walk |
TBD |
By contrast, the short story’s Uncle Will is a far kinder and more important figure in Hal’s life growing up. Will served as a guardian for the boys and is revealed in the story to spend time with the boys as a genuine guardian. While the film’s version of Hal believes dancing with his mother and brother was one of his happiest moments, the short story’s Hal reflects on fishing with Will instead. While Will is dead by the time of the short story’s present-day plot, the character isn’t implied to have died as a result of the Monkey.
3
The Original Monkey Killed Hal And Bill’s Best Friends
The Short Story Killed Two Kids Who Aren’t Present In The Movie
The titular cursed object gets many kills in the film version of The Monkey, but none of the on-screen fatalities depicted are young children. The youngest people to die in the film are likely the teenage cheerleaders who celebrate the various deaths in their small town, with the film’s final dark gag revealing they all get beheaded by a passing by truck. By contrast, The Monkey short story has two very grim moments during Bill and Hal’s childhood where their best friends are among the curse’s victims.
Both of these deaths are portrayed as more overtly tragic than the darkly comedic demises that occur throughout The Monkey, explaining why they were likely cut from the narrative.
Hal’s best friend, Johnny McCabe, is revealed to have fallen from a treehouse while playing with Bill and broken his neck upon impact. Not long after, Bill’s best friend Charlie Silverman is killed in a drunk driving accident. Both of these deaths are portrayed as more overtly tragic than the darkly comedic demises that occur throughout The Monkey, explaining why they were likely cut from the narrative. It also keeps the focus on Hal and Bill.
2
A Lot More People Die In The Movie Then The Short Story
The Monkey Has A Truly Ludicrous Number Of Kills
While there are plenty of casualties in the original short story version of The Monkey, the movie indulges in the concept to an almost gleefully grim degree. This is explained away due to Bill getting ahold of the monkey and frequently turning the key in hopes that it’ll finally turn its infernal attention towards Hal. Instead, Bill’s actions lead to several deaths around the local town, ranging from a cobra hiding on the golf course to a malfunctioning espresso machine.
Even Hal’s boss Dwayne is among the casualties, even though he’s far away from the influence of the Monkey. The ending of the film reveals that the Monkey eventually beats the drum several times due to Bill’s attempt to control it, resulting in massive chaos around the town in the form of plane crashes, surfboard-related stabbings, and even Bill’s own demise. Overall, the movie version of The Monkey includes a lot more deaths than the short story.
1
The Fate Of The Monkey Is Different
The Monkey Remains With Hal At The End Of The Movie
One of the most notable differences between the two versions of the story may be the way it concludes. In the original short story, Hal and Petey are able to take the Monkey to the middle of a nearby lake and drop it into the water. Although this does seem to free them from the curse, a newspaper clipping that ends the story reveals that several fish were found mysteriously deceased in the lake afterward. This implies the curse is still around. In the movie, Hal comes to accept that the Monkey can’t be simply destroyed or hidden away.
Instead, he and Petey agree to keep the Monkey. This way, they can ensure it remains hidden and that no one else falls prey to its temptations like Bill or Ricky. The movie underscores the importance of this choice by having an avatar of death itself appear before Hal and Petey after they make that decision, passing by them without comment. It’s an interesting development that gives Hal and Petey’s survival in The Monkey a greater sense of importance.
The Monkey
6/10
- Release Date
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February 19, 2025
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
