‘The Jolly Monkey’ DVD Review
Stars: Dominic Keating, Jane Hajduk, Courtney Fulk, Neirin Winter, Anthony Jensen, Patrick Labyorteaux, Kathleen Turner, Lisa Cole, Landon Jacob Lee, Aria Surrec, Zack Gold, Saskia Norman | Written and Directed by Ryan Ebert
Every now and then, a film studio surprises you, and with The Jolly Monkey, Asylum Pictures delivers one of its most unexpected entries to date. Known primarily for mockbusters, over-the-top disaster flicks and SyFy-esque creature features, the studio takes a sharp left turn into the realm of backwoods slasher horror. The result is a flawed but undeniably compelling entry in the genre, one that punches above its weight and plays with familiar tropes in surprisingly effective ways.
The plot centres on a cursed, long-abandoned roadside establishment: the Jolly Monkey Motel. Forty years prior, entire families mysteriously vanished while staying there. Now, the descendants of the original owners, chief among them the Blythe and Williams families, reunite at the site to decide its future. Some want to demolish it. Others see potential in restoring the creepy relic. But before any plans can be made, bodies begin to drop, each murder carried out by someone in the motel’s old monkey mascot costume. It quickly devolves into a survival story, as the characters scramble to unmask the killer and make it out alive.
The cast, including Dominic Keating, Jane Hajduk, and Courtney Fulk, holds up reasonably well given the material. There’s a healthy mix of melodrama and earnestness in their performances, which helps ground a story that, at times, leans into the absurd, at times adding unexpected gravitas to the film’s murkier emotional beats.
Director and writer Ryan Ebert deserves credit for steering the film away from the typical Asylum fare. While The Jolly Monkey still features some low-budget trappings, its tone and pacing feel more disciplined. The central mystery unfolds in layers, with a mid-film twist that recasts the narrative in a darker, more tragic light. There’s a genuine sense of legacy and unearthed trauma that runs beneath the surface, even if it’s delivered in a campy package.
No, The Jolly Monkey is not a rip-off of this year’s The Monkey, despite the lazy internet comparisons. This is a slasher film that owes more to Friday the 13th than anything Stephen King conjured, and it’s better for carving out its own path. There’s a killer in a monkey suit, yes, but there’s also a generational story about guilt, secrecy, and blood-soaked inheritance.
Ultimately, The Jolly Monkey is better than it has any right to be. It’s not a genre-redefining masterpiece, but it’s a tight, strange little horror tale with a wickedly fun premise and a satisfyingly twisted finale. For Asylum Pictures, it’s practically prestige. For horror fans, it’s a solid and surprising late-night watch.
***½ 3.5/5
The Jolly Monkey is out on DVD and digital now from High Fliers.
