Scariest movie I never saw

About a year after this was released my sister managed to see this at a friends house, and came home to tell me about the terrifying story of a monkey that killed people. I was about 6 years old, and due to many circumstances, such as ignorance of the difference between a 'monkey' and a 'gorilla' and only soaking in the scary imaginings, I specifically avoided everything about this movie for a good 2 or 3 years. I'd even go as far to turn my gaze away from it at video rental stores, but that mechanized cymbal monkey still scared me every time I noticed it.

Once I got over the original scare I developed a fascination with the box packaging for the movie, and mostly about the plot I had somehow formed after years of pondering. I think what I had in my head was like a gory King Kong, or Mighty Joe Young, with switchblades. Eventually I came to admire how creepy the cover was, and forgot it for more than a decade.

Then a few years ago I noticed it was on a television movie channel (it's on IFC as I am typing this) and figured I'd give it a watch, expecting it to be like another movie I was afraid of as a kid because of some other kids review (The People Under The Stairs) which was far from scary. Yeah, pretty much the same reaction, though this movie was better overall. Still not scary.

It's crazy that the scariest movie I ever saw is just ridiculous now that I am almost 20 years past the viewing (Nightmare on Elm Street 4, I think, which my dad let me watch when I was 7 or so). Some movies are creepy now, but none of them seem to actually scare me anymore, which is a shame.

Anywho, I thought someone would identify with this and get a kick out of it... the crazy expectations you come up with a movie as a kid and how different it turns out or how your perspective has changed over the years. I still giggle about this movie!