Major spoilers ahead for The Monkey
The latest horror movie from Neon is the twisted and darkly hilarious horror movie The Monkey, based on the short story by Stephen King and written and directed by Osgood Perkins (Longlegs). Although audience reception toward the film has been polarizing, The Monkey is already set up to make a killing at the box office for Neon, already earning the second-biggest opening weekend ever for the distributor, only coming in second to Perkins' 2024 film.
For those who have seen the movie and still have some questions about the ending, and we're digging into the final act of the film and some of its twists.
Where did the monkey come from and how does it work?
The titular monkey in the movie comes into the picture when Hal and Bill's father, Petey (Adam Scott), purchases it from a pawn shop. He quickly realizes that there is something seriously wrong with it and tries to return it to the store. But the shopkeeper doesn't believe him and learns firsthand what the monkey is capable of when it causes his death by harpoon. Petey tries to destroy the monkey, but it doesn't work and it eventually gets tucked away in the house, waiting for his children to stumble upon it later.
Bill and Hal first experience what the monkey is capable of when they turn the key and later their babysitter dies during a brutal hibachi incident. They try to destroy it, but nothing they do works, leading the brothers to toss the monkey down a well.
Bill vs. Hal
The twin brothers have been at odds with one another since they were children and although the trailer teased that Bill and Hal might team up to defeat the monkey, that's not really what happens in the movie.
Instead, it is eventually revealed that Bill is personally responsible for the toy primate's return. He retrieved the monkey from the well and started turning the key over and over again, resulting in an assortment of crazy deaths.
Why? Because Bill realized that his brother was the catalyst for their mom's death. As kids, Bill relentlessly tormented Hal and after one particularly awful day at school, Hal goes home and consults the monkey. Believing that the drum-banging creature is capable of killing people, Hal turns the key and wishes for his brother's death. But the monkey doesn't take requests. Their mom, Lois (Tatiana Maslany), dies instead.
Hal and Petey escape unscathed, but the monkey persists
Bill nursed a desire for revenge against his brother since learning the truth about Lois' death. However, as the film establishes early on, the monkey does what it wants. Despite how often Bill turned the key (causing a multitude of deaths), Hal was never the target.
Of course, when Hal realizes what his twin is up to, he fears for his son's life and tries to get Bill to stop, ending in a confrontation between the brothers. At the end of the film, Bill and Hal comes face-to-face. They reconcile, with Bill finally appreciating that Hal suffered from their mother's death, too, but then the monkey strikes once more and Bill is brutally murdered by one of his own traps, resulting in a bowling ball blasting his head off. It's a callback to one of Hal's initial dreams of bashing his brother's head in while he slept when they were kids.
In the end, Hal and Petey escape from the town with the monkey securely strapped in the backseat. They agree to keep it with them always to ensure no one ever turns its key again. That presents the possibility of future problems if someone were to steal it or if the monkey were to fall into the wrong hands, but for now, it appears to be safe with father and son.
And yes, there is a post-credits scene.