Let’s talk about monkeys. They have opposable thumbs! They use tools! They cuddle! They laugh! They stress eat! Monkeys are just like us! Like, literally. We share 97% of our DNA. This is obviously why we destroy their habitats. We will stop at nothing to clear their forests, kidnap them, and make them perform in ridiculous outfits. Once in New York City I saw a guy walking around with a monkey on a leash, and I hope he’s rotting in jail, along with that guy who kept a tiger and an alligator in his Harlem apartment. Anyway, if you like monkeys as much as I do, then watch this movie. If you don’t like monkeys as much as I do, that’s fine, but still watch this movie. If you absolutely despise monkeys with the passion of a thousand suns, then definitely watch this movie.
Somewhere in the jungle, “native people” perform a ceremony. There are traditional drums, ecstatic dancing, grass skirts, skulls dangling from wooden staffs, and the shrill, pitch-shifted voice of the head shaman. He blesses a clay doll. Blood oozes out.
Meanwhile, two scientists and their crew are on a boat. They’re trying to figure out why the monkey population is decreasing. It’s a mystery. Only it’s not. It’s because of deforestation, but whatever, no one ever listens to me. They head to a cursed island and in the water, they retrieve the clay doll. Suddenly the doll comes to life and a giant demon monkey appears. It has bloody fangs, sharp claws, super-human strength, and surprisingly muscular fuzzy legs. This demon works out and blasts his quads. It goes on a rampage as all demon monkeys are known to do. Appendages get ripped off and tossed carelessly into the jungle.
Now, seventeen years later, the doll emerges to fulfill a curse. How can it be stopped? Time to call in the big guns—in this case a human meatloaf named Sanjaya, played by legendary Indonesian tough guy Barry Prima (The Warrior, Special Silencers, among many, many, many others). He punches and kicks and does somersaults in the air. I am exhausted just watching him. He is in incredible cardiovascular shape. His biceps are as wide as my waist. Like our demon monkey, he also works out and blasts his quads. It’s a battle between two beefy primates.
Demon Monkey is like, well, a barrel of monkeys. It’s a good time. There’s liberal use of a dummy, surprise monster effects, stop-motion gore, primate transformations, and a guy obsessed with garlic who takes a shower with his clothes on. What more could you possibly want? While at times the film does get a little chatty and repetitive, and plot points are rehashed several times, Demon Monkey consistently delivers. It’s fun to watch Prima duke it out with a bloodthirsty primate monster. The costume really gets a lot of screen time and mileage, as it should. This movie is further proof that we all really need to visit Indonesia. There’s a creative energy there that we must bottle and export to all these American milquetoast so-called action directors. Michael Bay, take note. You don’t need millions of dollars and endless CG to unleash a cinematic cocaine party. You only need to go to Indonesia, find Barry Prima, and give him a leather studded vest.
Watch on YouTube with English subtitles.
