The Monkey's Paw (2013)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Please don't spend money on this.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

When I stumbled upon "The Monkey's Paw", I didn't know what it was about, who starred in it or who directed it. I am familiar with the myth of the magical powers of the monkey's paw, and that was sufficient enough to make me pick up the movie and give it a go.I was pleasantly surprised to see that Stephen Lang was in this movie, because he usually performs quite well in the stuff that he participates in, and it turned out that the 2013 "The Monkey's Paw" was also one such feat. And he was joined by C.J. Thomason whom also performed quite well.Now, the storyline was pretty much straight forward and simple to follow. Actually, it was so straightforward that it was actually a bit too predictable. But it was alright, because the movie was entertaining enough to sustain the predictability without suffering under it.To quickly summarize the storyline, then it is about Jake Tilton (played by C.J. Thomason) whom is given a monkey's paw and the three wishes that come with it. But when one wish turns his friend Tony Cobb (played by Stephen Lang) into a soulless husk of his former self, things turn foul and bad things start to happen.The atmosphere that director Brett Simmons managed to set up during the course of the movie was quite good, because it was quite becoming for the storyline and the movie as a whole.This isn't a horror movie that relies heavily on special effects, so don't get all worked up and hope for a grand CGI and practical effects show, because it just ain't there. Sure, there were special effects in the movie, and the effects that were there were to the point and functioning very well."The Monkey's Paw" is the type of horror movie that is driven by a good and entertaining storyline and have some well-rounded characters in the character gallery to help bring the story to life on the screen. While this is not the type of horror movie that will make you cringe and jump at the edge of the seat, it is the type of horror movie that broods and stays with you.

After receiving a mystical paw from a friend, a man's life is turned upside down finally culminating in his best friends' resurrection from death and his continual stalking of his friends to get the powerful object.On the whole this one was quite a decent enough effort without too much really affecting it. One of the few positives on display here is the rather demented manner in which this one goes about the resurrection of the friend, slowly but surely turning him away from the calm and level- headed friend into a gleeful and inhuman slasher that takes advantage of numerous opportunities to really get some great suspense in this. Not only is the behavior change here responsible for that but also the rather obvious physical changes abound as there's plenty of different marks and scars that give away his appearance quite readily that makes the slow transition all the more obvious and creepy to match that newfound psychotic behavior. The scenes where he gets to show that off, mainly the stalking scene in the grocery store, the freeway chase after his friends and the final brawl in the house all manage to get some nice action in here as well as allowing for the performance of superhuman feats which is quite a bit of fun and really manages to get that transformation across as best it can here with a lot to like. Finish it off with some solid gore and it manages to come off nicely, but still flawed as there's a few rather distressing elements present. The biggest issue here is easily the fact that there's just no way to take the plot seriously or even find a great deal of creepiness from it as the majority of the time here is spent on doing nothing but the two arguing over whether or not the resurrected friend should have the paw in question, resorting to bullying and tormenting tactics to get it but never showing anything that deserves why he should have it. That really tends to force him into being far more psychotic than he really should've been and tends to render a vast majority of the scenes here into a repetitive manner of requesting it, denial and then a vicious murder only for it to start back up again which gets very old very quickly. It doesn't do anything for the pace of the film and none of these scenes are different from the previous ones only the location has changed and the people still alive in that world. The last problematic effort here is the fact that there's never any real back-story on the paw as for how it got it's powers from in the first place, really tending to just be around and never really offering anything on what it is or how it got that way which was all given in the original story but dropped here which is quite confusing. Otherwise, this one wasn't all that bad.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, sexual content and children-in- jeopardy.

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.

There is a feeling that resonates immediately that the cast, and crew of this movie were in sync, and it also shows in the effort of the cast on the screen, and all of the solid lighting, and camera work. This must have been a great production to work on, at least that is how they make it feel. The cast as I mentioned all delivered solid performances, and the story was right. This is a proper telling of the story, and you get all of the points that you expect from it save the one nagging at the back of your mind for half the film. (Wish for the do-over dummy) This was no blockbuster, but there is a lot to be Enjoyed. I found what I wanted in watching this movie, and so I would recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of fantasy mixed in with your psycho killer, slasher thriller.