Steinesongo
Too many fans seem to be blown away
BroadcastChic
Excellent, a Must See
Majorthebys
Charming and brutal
Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Leofwine_draca
THE MONKEY'S PAW is less an adaptation of the famous ghost story by British writer W.W. Jacobs and more a typical supernatural slasher flick with a generic Hollywood feel. It provides a role for the reliably evil Stephen Lang, whose appearance in AVATAR has made him extremely typecast in this genre, but other than that it's largely uninteresting. The story has been chopped and altered so that it's barely recognisable as an adaptation of the old story. The film itself has a dark, blue-tinted look and boring protagonists whose fate you never really care about. Inevitably there are some gruesome interludes but as a horror film, this one's a dud.
Scarecrow-88
The Monkey's Paw is updated to 2013 where a factory underling, Jake (CJ Thomason), accidentally costs a long-time employee, Gill (Daniel Hugh Kelly; Hardcastle and McCormick) his job. Gill received a monkey's paw as a kid after his father died, and he decides as revenge to give it to Jake, knowing that if wished upon bad things were most certain to happen. And they do.As the old story goes, Jake wishes for a nice ride, and a wreck caused by a gator in the road throws his bar/work buddy, Tony Cobb (Stephen Lang), through the windshield, killing him when he hit the ground. Unwisely making a second wish on the paw to resurrect Tony, what happens is he's brought back, but the soul is "poisoned" and he becomes a remorseless killer. Tony has an ex with a son who has a restraining order against him. Although he wants to "take his boy fishing", Tony isn't some father of the year: in fact the friendly, chatty Tony Jake became close to has returned cold and distanced. What Tony wants is to have his son and sees the monkey's paw as the means to do so. So unless Jake does as he wishes, people will die (a motorist he met at a bar is strangled by him through the use of her hoody)
and do.Two wishes and Tony wants Jake to make that third, being the kid belonging to him. That motivation will drive Tony to commit unspeakable acts, like murdering Jake's family (mother, brother, and brother's wife), a detective trying to help him (Charles Durning in a thankless part he still manages to bring depth to despite being given a few scenes with a manner of minutes), and Jake's employer (thinking that if the rival for the woman he loves is out of the way, Jake would be more apt to help him).Lang has cut his teeth on complex villains. He was at first an opinionated, assertive, but ultimately amusing blue collar forklift operator, only robbed of his humanity after Jake awakens him from the dead thanks to a monkey's paw with only bad intentions it offers. Lang offers a weapon cutting a swath through all that are close to Jake, wanting the kid, not fully realizing the cruelty of his actions. The black soul and how Lang posits a ruined character thanks to the paw is damned effective. He's shot well, too, to convey all that darkness. Thomason just wasn't particularly involved in his character and left me cold
we needed someone who could provoke a response not leave a feeling of apathy towards him. The paw dilemma isn't too badly executed. You see how the paw really takes Jake down a dark road: no good really comes of it. Kelly isn't available for the film much, but you can feel for him considering his firing left him in a difficult spot. That he is the catalyst for all the harm done, though, visits upon him karmic justice
he pays for not ridding himself and others of the paw. This is not a film which focuses on the grisly details, more or less suggesting the horrors caused by Lang. Heads don't fare well: one victim is crushed in a vice while another has his head split open with a blade; a third is twisted all the way around. This will perhaps be judged by Lang's mission of terror, because the paw story is old hat.
Claudio Carvalho
In New Orleans, Jake Tilton (C.J. Thomason) works in transportation business as assistant of the supervisor Gillespie (Daniel Hugh Kelly) with his friends Anthony "Tony" Cobb (Stephen Lang) and Catfish (Corbin Bleu). When the manager Kevin (Andy Favreau), who got married to Jake's former girlfriend Olivia Corbin (Michelle Pierce), fires Gillespie, Jake and Cobb meet him drinking in a bar and Gillespie gives a magical monkey's paw to Jake telling that it grants three wishes to the owner. Jake does not believe in his words but he wishes a nice car that is parked at the bar. Soon he and Cobb discover the keys inside the car and Jake drives the car. However he has a car accident and Cobb dies. Then he wishes that Cobb resurrects and his friend becomes a soulless undead. Cobb wishes that Jake uses his last wish to make his son to love him, but Jake has thrown the paw away. Cobb decides to kill everyone connected to Jake to force him to use the monkey's paw to grant his wish. In 1902, in England, the writer W. W. Jacob published the supernatural short story "The Monkey Paw" where the owner of a monkey's paw is granted with three wishes with tragic consequences. In Tales from the Crypt (1972), there is a segment with the title "Wish you Were Here" based on this short story where a bankrupted businessman uses a statue with the legend that it could grant three wishes to the owner to make the wishes that lead him to eternal damnation. "The Monkey's Paw" is a horror movie with a good version also based on this short story with the idea that you shall be careful with what you wish for. The creepy and gore story takes place in the mystical New Orleans and does not disappoint fans of horror. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): Not Available on VHS / DVD / Blu-Ray
ersinkdotcom
Although I can't remember a Chiller movie I couldn't stand, their entertainment value and production qualities do vary. I always try to go into a film without any sort of pre-conceived notions, but let's be honest. That's nearly impossible to do once you've read any type of publicity material on a movie. As many of you may know, "The Monkey's Paw" is an updated version of W.W. Jacobs' supernatural short story from 1902. Three wishes are granted to the owner of the title object. Unfortunately, the wishes come with a terrible price.Director Brett Simmons and Writer Macon Blair did a great job of establishing a group of engaging personalities through quick character development. It's a simple and entertaining tale that keeps your attention as it plays out. The solid camera-work for this independent genre piece also came as a surprise."The Monkey's Paw" boasts an ensemble cast of stars to help draw in their individual fans. Some of them fully committed to the movie, while others appear to have been paid as much as the budget would allow to get them for a day's work for name recognition. Charles S. Dutton plays a detective who pops up a few times before making his dramatic exit. He might be in the movie for a sum total of ten minutes at the most.Corbin Bleu continues to shake his Disney stigma by taking on a more mature role for "The Monkey's Paw." He plays a blue-collar factory worker named Catfish. It's much different than his roles in "High School Musical" and "Free Style." He also looks like he's bulked up a bit over the years. This isn't Bleu's first genre film, as he was also in "Nurse 3D" and "Scary or Die.""The Monkey's Paw" is unrated, although I would consider it PG-13. You won't find anything out of the ordinary for supernatural horror films. There's some violence, gore, adult situations, and language. The one thing we don't get surprisingly is any nudity.If you like supernatural thrillers, "The Monkey's Paw" will provide some entertainment for horror hounds looking for an old-fashioned tale in a new package. Some might find vague comparisons to "Pet Semetary" are in order. I found it to be satisfying and was pleased by its overall quality and level of suspense.