It’s all fun and games until you grow up. At least that’s what Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round will have you believing. Perhaps there is some truth to it. Oh how we long to go back to a simpler time in our lives. Peanut butter sandwiches with no crust, sitting in front of the TV watching PBS while a trolley enters a make believe world. There’s no doubt about it. This film knows exactly how to grab your attention. And it found a perfect home at Imagine Fantastic Film Festival 2025.
A leap into the rabbit hole
Written by Aidan Leary and C. R. Thompson, no time is wasted as we tumble head first into escapism. James “Jimbo” Jensen (Michael Gilio) is the host of a children’s television show. He welcomes us in with his cardigan sweater and bow tie, tugging at us with familiarity. Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round is an existential jaunt down a trippy memory lane. You can’t escape the harkening back to your own childhood. It catapults you back even if it’s just an idyllic version of what once was. The music and the puppetry welcome you into a comfy little cocoon of nostalgia. Back you go to experience the whimsiness of a playful escape. It’s a regression to a place that we all long to be, a never ending play date. But what happens when you have to grow up?
The playful colors and the sound of Jimbo’s voice are soothing until you realize it’s all a nightmare. The callback to your childhood was a trick. It wasn’t all endless fun on the dizzying merry go round. Real life went on even as we tried desperately to escape into our imaginations. Jimbo has a problem, a real adult one. He’s having trouble remembering his childhood. It doesn’t get more terrifying than that. He tries desperately to remember as we go along for the ride. With his pal Monkey by his side, we follow Jimbo as he navigates the hellscape of forgetfulness.
Stellar performance
Leary does a wonderful job directing Gilio onscreen. While there is no shortage of talent or presence, Gilio is the star. He embraces the curious nature of Jimbo and breathes life into him. There is not a moment that passes where you don’t truly believe this playful world exists. Even when sharing the screen with his puppet friends and the mail carrier, Gilio’s Jimbo is front and center. He has only himself to propel the story forward.
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round is a must see if you were ever a child. It sucks you in with the charm of a Mr. Rogers and grips you tight, not letting go like Freddy Krueger. Regardless of what it looked like, we all shared one common thing. We were all young once and we longed for a world born from our imagination. Jimbo has created just that, with his pal Monkey to keep him company. The horror lies therein, right where Monkey lives.
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Dalia De Leon
I love horror because it's a comfort genre for me. I have many labels in life which means I'm busy but never too busy to pop a scary or genre flick on the tube to enjoy. In addition to life and writing for Horror Movie Blog, I am the former co-host to the late Nightmare on 5th Street: A horror movie podcast. May she rest in peace. You can find my reviews here on HMB and TheCherryPicks.com.
