Film

The Monkey's Paw

Name: The Monkey's Paw
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Released: 2013
Cast: C.J. Thomason, Stephen Lang, Michelle Pierce, Corbin Bleu, Daniel Hugh Kelly

Other titles called The Monkey's Paw: the 1933 film.

Supernatural horror
Fantasy
Thriller
Very dark
Relentless

A working-class horror film that takes the monkey's paw legend seriously: what if your wishes came back to haunt you? It's lean and efficient, mixing dread with real consequences, following a man whose good intentions unlock something far worse. Solid creature-feature energy for people who like their scares grounded in character.

TMDb rating

2.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like cautionary horror where a wish curdles into slow dread, and you enjoy a villain who is more sneering pressure than special effects.

Skip it if you need subtle scares or a slow-burn mood, since this is a brisk, blunt genre piece with broad villainy and little room for ambiguity.

What it asks of you: Eighty-eight minutes of brisk, escalating unease with little downtime; you just settle in and let the pressure build without much waiting for ideas to land.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Drag Me to Hell2009

Sam Raimi's gleeful supernatural thriller about consequences and curses—a woman faces mounting horror because of one decision. Builds dread through inventive scares and never lets up.

But The tone sometimes veers cartoonish, and the possessed-woman-in-peril formula is well-worn territory by now.

Wishmaster1997

A genie grants wishes with twisted, body-horror consequences. It's nasty and clever about the gap between what we want and what we actually get—pure genre fun with practical effects that still hold up.

But Very much a 90s action-horror hybrid; the pacing is uneven and some kills prioritize shock over logic.

Sinister2012

A writer investigating a crime discovers something in old footage that won't leave him alone. Atmospheric, genuinely unsettling, and built on the idea that knowledge itself can be a curse.

But Reliant on jump scares; some viewers find the central mythology more pretentious than scary.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Monkey's Paw

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Audition2000

Both are about wishes that invite monstrosity into ordinary life. The monkey's paw and Audition share a structure where the protagonist's desire—however reasonable—becomes the vector for something that shouldn't exist.

Takashi Miike's unnerving Japanese film about a widower auditioning actresses for companionship—it starts as awkward romance and mutates into something genuinely sick. It subverts expectation into genuine dread.

But Extreme body horror and sexual violence; the second half will make most audiences deeply uncomfortable.

Christine1983

John Carpenter's adaptation of King about a possessed car that remakes its owner. It's the textbook example of a malevolent object warping everyone around it—sleek, nasty, and darkly funny.

But Very much a product of 1983; the teen romance subplot hasn't aged well and can feel intrusive.

The Wailing2016

A Korean masterpiece about ambiguity and moral rot. A village is plagued by unexplainable deaths, and investigating only spreads the corruption further. Genuinely unsettling and philosophically rich.

But Nearly three hours, deliberately obscure about what's actually happening, and the ending will frustrate people who need answers.

Videodrome1983

Cronenberg's hallucinogenic nightmare about a man whose reality unravels through a signal he broadcasts. It's about invasion and transformation—grotesque, hypnotic, and utterly singular.

But Body horror and themes of sexual violation; the plot is deliberately incoherent and some find it pretentious rather than profound.

The Descent2005

Women caving in an unmapped system encounter something that wants them dead. Claustrophobic, mean-spirited, and doesn't pull punches about who lives or dies. Pure survival horror.

But Relentlessly bleak and gory; if you hate feeling trapped in small spaces, this will actively torment you.

Thir13en Ghosts2001

A man inherits a mansion full of malicious spirits that he has to outwit. It's stylish, weird, and genuinely inventive about how each ghost kills—pulpy horror that knows what it is.

But Dated CGI, thin characters, and the plot barely justifies the premise; mostly you're there for the set design and kills.

The Machinist2004

Christian Bale as an insomniac factory worker watching his life collapse through paranoia and guilt. Psychological horror about a man literally destroying himself from the inside out.

But Extremely bleak with no humour; the twist is divisive and some find the whole thing a slog of misery.

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum2018

Both are about people entering spaces controlled by something hostile—but where Monkey's Paw is about one man's moral reckoning, Gonjiam is about collective stupidity. Different register, same curse.

A Korean found-footage horror film about YouTubers exploring an abandoned asylum. It's tense, inventive, and avoids jump-scare cliches by building genuine atmosphere and dread.

But Found footage format is exhausting for some; the dialogue is heavy-handed and subtitles required.

The Wager2024

Both center on a transaction—wish, bet, deal—that corrupts everyone it touches. The Wager is fundamentally about how saying yes to the wrong thing with the wrong person becomes inescapable.

A small independent thriller about two men making increasingly dark bets that escalate into violence. It's a chamber piece that treats the wager itself as a curse, exploring how people trap themselves through agreement.

But Minimal production values; slow-burn dialogue-heavy; regional release with limited visibility means it's genuinely hard to find.