Here are the most notable differences between Osgood Perkins’The Monkeyand the short story that inspired it.
In the short story, Hal is married to Terry and they have two sons.
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.
When Bill refuses, Ricky becomes a secondary antagonist.
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Bill has a much happier life in the short story.
Doing so fails to kill Hal, and instead results in several other deaths across the local town.
This results in countless more deaths, including his own.
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In the short story, Lois isn’t even given a formal name.
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 also expressly killed in the movie by the Monkey, suffering from a “boomerang aneurysm.”
However, the nature of these deaths is very different.
It’s a tragic turn, one that the short story treats with complete seriousness.
By contrast, the grim comedy of the cinematic version ofThe Monkeyplays out very differently.
In the movie, their babysitter is Annie Wilkes.
It also keeps the focus on Hal and Bill.
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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.
It’s an interesting development that gives Hal and Petey’s survival inThe Monkeya greater sense of importance.
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