The Monkey Has a Great (And Hilarious) Death Scene That’s Worth Watching

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Spoiler Alert: Spoilers follow for The Monkey

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  • Who Dies the Most Gruesome Death in ‘The Monkey’?
  • ‘The Monkey’s Best Kill Is Bee-utifilly Absurd

A year after releasing the terrifyingly successful movie “Longlegs,” Oz Perkins appears ready to achieve the same success twice with “The Monkey.” Although Perkins’ latest work may not have the eerie ambiance of his previous creations, it offers him an opportunity to expand his directing skills and combine big chuckles with his trademark scares. In truth, it’s just as much a comedy as it is a horror film.

In essence, “The Monkey” story revolves around a mechanical monkey toy, as you might’ve figured out. When this toy is wound up, it’s a grim truth that it results in the demise of an unsuspecting person. This concept could potentially veer towards self-parody, but Perkins masterfully embraces the absurdity. Furthermore, he crafts deaths that, quite likely, will be among the goriest of 2025. The on-screen bloodshed is so intense, it’d make even the infamous “Happy Tree Friends” series blush. However, one death in particular makes the ticket cost worthwhile.

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Who Dies the Most Gruesome Death in ‘The Monkey’?

Approximately halfway through the tale “The Monkey“, the narrative leaps ahead by 25 years following the twins Hal and Bill Shelburn, who had dropped the story’s namesake monkey down a well and seemingly escaped its curse. However, their past continues to haunt them, as the toy resurfaces in their old home, causing the death of their aunt Ida after being reactivated. During the subsequent estate sale, Ricky (Rohan Campbell from “Halloween Ends“) – a police officer’s son – takes interest in the monkey and ultimately buys it.

However, it soon becomes clear that Ricky was employed by Bill with the mission of obtaining the monkey, in a plot to avenge his brother Hal, who Bill holds responsible for their mother’s tragic demise. Over time, the monkey has proven incapable of harming Hal, so Bill enlists Ricky to kidnap not only Hal but also his son Petey. Dressed in his father’s attire, Ricky manipulates Petey into entering Bill’s residence, where he deceives him into using the monkey’s key. Bill is optimistic that another person operating the device might be the solution to finally eliminating Hal.

However, it’s irrelevant who turns the key since Hal is saved yet again. Instead, Ricky encounters a grisly fate while waiting with Hal in their father’s police car outside. A misfired bullet from within the house unintentionally shatters the car’s windshield, and as Ricky realizes they’re positioned near a handy hornet’s nest, his unfortunate day takes a deadly turn.

In an unexpected turn of events, a cloud of bees burst from the hive via a gunshot opening and directly into Ricky’s mouth, causing him to be stung from within, creating a scene that challenges the R-rating’s boundaries. Despite its unsettling nature, the sequence is cleverly set up, delivers a punchline, and arrives at just the right moment, making it a laugh-out-loud funny demise. This scene is likely to cause many Nicholas Cage fans to exclaim in joy, “Oh no! Not the bees!

‘The Monkey’s Best Kill Is Bee-utifilly Absurd

What makes ‘The Monkey’ effective is its unwavering dedication to pushing boundaries beyond realism while still maintaining a sense of unreality. In different hands, scenes like a man being trampled to death or a woman receiving an electric shock in a pool might be exploited for disturbing effect. However, if the film opted for graphic, implausible violence akin to ‘torture porn’, it would disrupt the tone, particularly given the supernatural element of the story. Instead, Perkins portrays these scenes as a live-action cartoon, making the excessive bloodshed seem comical.

In no place does this scenario work more effectively than when Ricky dies, completely eliminating any semblance of reality. The swarm of bees that invade Ricky’s mouth en masse, and the ones that crawl out of his skin, giving him a beehive-like appearance, are nothing short of ridiculously entertaining. Despite the noticeable use of CGI, it strangely aligns with the film’s exaggerated style, making it less disruptive than some effects in the recent It duology.

Rohan Campbell expressed just as much joy as anyone else about Ricky’s grisly demise. In an interview with ScreenRant, he showed enthusiasm upon learning about the gruesome scene in the script: “I was curious to see how they would pull it off, and I made sure no bees would be harmed during filming… It looks fantastic in the movie, and it’s definitely my most memorable death on camera. And I’ve had quite a few different deaths filmed.

Among numerous exaggerated deaths in the film, Ricky’s death outshines them all, striking a perfect balance between humor and gruesomeness. Even if the overall performance of The Monkey didn’t impress (which it does), the bee scene alone would make it worth watching, as it has set an incredibly tough standard for horror kill scenes this year to surpass. Currently playing in theaters, The Monkey.

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2025-02-24 05:32