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Monkey paw movie1/23/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() Not because grade schoolers still find it in their English textbooks more than 100 years after it was first published, but because its theme about the danger of tampering with fate is as meaningful in the 21st century as it was in 1902.Ĭhiller Films’ “The Monkey’s Paw” from director Brett Simmons and screenwriter Macon Blair is the right kind of adaptation because it does more than transpose plot beats to be a straight film version of the familiar narrative. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw” is one short story that does qualify as a legitimately venerable classic. “Classic” is a word sometimes misused in confusion as a synonym for “old” without necessarily referring to quality. Later, as Abby and Corey drive away from their home, the paw is seen in the boy’s hand. Injured in the struggle with Cobb, Jake is taken away by ambulance while frantically asking about the paw’s whereabouts. Cobb stabs Olivia before having an emotional breakdown and committing suicide with Jake’s gun. Jake uses the third wish to ask for Cobb’s soul to return. Jake finally retrieves the paw and confronts Cobb outside Abby’s home as Cobb holds Olivia hostage. However, Cobb kills Margolis as the detective tries taking Olivia to safety. Detective Margolis, who had been investigating the murders, comes to believe Cobb is the killer. Cobb later kills Gillespie before going after Charlie and Sandy. Jake visits Gillespie and Gillespie admits the awful truth about the paw’s curse. Realizing that his family is in danger, Jake convinces his brother Charlie and Charlie’s wife Sandy to leave town temporarily. Cobb also murders Jake’s cancer-stricken mother to unburden Jake of her medical bills. Suspecting that Jake might use the last wish to take Olivia back from Kevin, Cobb puts Kevin’s head in a machine press and kills him. Later, Jake finds Cobb in the cemetery and Cobb tells him that he wants to use the paw’s third wish to reunite with his son Corey. Cobb confronts his ex-wife about wanting to see their son. In the morning, Detective Margolis notices Jake outside the police station as he contemplates reporting Cobb’s death, but Jake leaves instead. Meanwhile, Jake throws the paw away in frustration. A woman takes Cobb home to treat his wounds and he kills her. Jake flags down a passing car, but leaves the scene after wishing that Cobb were not dead. Cobb ejects through the windshield and dies. Jake swerves to miss an alligator in the road and hits a tree. Gillespie tells Jake that he is now the paw’s new owner.Ĭobb finds the keys in the Mustang and convinces Jake to take it for a joyride. Jake jokingly wishes for the GT in the parking lot. He gives the paw to Jake and tells him to make a wish. Gillespie tells them the tale of how the talisman grants its owner three wishes. Jake and Cobb find Gillespie drinking away his sorrows alone. Over a drink, Cobb tells Jake that his ex-wife Abby has a restraining order preventing him from seeing his young son Corey. Outside a bar after work, several Trident employees notice a loaded GT Mustang in the parking lot. Kevin fires Gillespie, who blames the poor performance of his employees, particularly Jake, for making him look bad. Their supervisor is Gillespie and the top manager is Kevin, who is married to Jake’s ex-girlfriend Olivia. In case the influence wasn't clear, Steve directly references "The Monkey’s Paw" in the scene where they realize the Dreamstone's wishes come with a price.Jake Tilton works at Trident Supply in Louisiana with his friends Tony Cobb and Catfish. While these wishes are largely different from those featured in Jacobs' short story, the idea of wishes having twisted consequences is very much lifted from that original work. Barbara Minerva wishes to become an “ apex predator,” transforming into a cheetah-human hybrid as part of the Dreamstone’s toll, giving up her humanity in the process, and villain Maxwell Lord wishes to “become” the stone, but his body begins to deteriorate under the artifact’s influence and he almost loses his son. In Wonder Woman 1984, the Dreamstone is portrayed as a monkey’s paw-like device granting wishes to those who hold it, but throwing unintended consequences their way by taking away something dear in return. As in "The Monkey’s Paw," Wonder Woman uses the power of the Dreamstone to bring a dead loved one back to life, reviving Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), who died during the climax of 2017’s Wonder Woman. As a result, her powers and abilities start to fade. Related: Dreamstone Explained: Origin, History, Rules, Wishes & Weaknesses ![]()
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