Everything Action Theater: MST3K: Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders (1996)
Before The Monkey terrorizes theaters this weekend, you can check out a classic MST3K episode, Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders, which features a segment shockingly similar to the Stephen King story that inspired The Monkey.
Initially released in 1996 straight to video, Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders stars Ernest Borgnine as a grandfather telling his grandson various stories about the wizard Merlin (George Milan) opening a shop in modern times and the consequences when some of the items in his shop are abused or stolen. The movie is broken into segments, with the second segment being “The Devil’s Gift,” which features a mechanical monkey toy stolen from Merlin’s shop and eventually falling into the hands of a boy named Michael (Struan Robertson). When the monkey’s cymbals clang, something is killed in the vicinity. The segment was an edited-down version of a movie called The Devil’s Gift, which was released in 1984. The MST3K episode aired during the show’s 10th season in 1999 on SyFy, and Mike Nelson and the Bots found plenty of humorous details to hone in on. You can watch the entire MST3K episode below, thanks to the official MST3K YouTube channel below.
