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.
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.
- 7/30/2025
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Writer/director Osgood Perkins‘ feature film adaptation of the Stephen King short story The Monkey reached theatres last week – and now, a mockbuster from The Asylum called The Jolly Monkey has joined it on the big screen! You can watch the trailer for The Jolly Monkey in the embed above.
The feature directorial debut of Ryan Ebert, who has previously written the likes of Heretics, Shark Warning, Megalodon: The Frenzy, Shark Side of the Moon, Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood, Apocalypse of Ice, and San Andreas Mega Quake, the film has the following synopsis: Upon their mother’s death, siblings Jenny and Marshall return to renovate her crumbling motel, The Jolly Monkey. But as they work, a deadly force tied to their family’s dark past emerges, forcing them to face terrifying truths if they want to survive.
Dominic Keating (Star Trek: Enterprise), Jane Hajduk (Year by the...
The feature directorial debut of Ryan Ebert, who has previously written the likes of Heretics, Shark Warning, Megalodon: The Frenzy, Shark Side of the Moon, Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood, Apocalypse of Ice, and San Andreas Mega Quake, the film has the following synopsis: Upon their mother’s death, siblings Jenny and Marshall return to renovate her crumbling motel, The Jolly Monkey. But as they work, a deadly force tied to their family’s dark past emerges, forcing them to face terrifying truths if they want to survive.
Dominic Keating (Star Trek: Enterprise), Jane Hajduk (Year by the...
- 2/28/2025
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
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