“ | Hungry? So are we. We'll be right with you. | ” |
– a sign in the kitchen |
The Chef Monkeys are the first boss enemies in Dark Deception and Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals.
Description[]
Chef Monkeys appear to be slightly larger versions of the Murder Monkeys, sporting a blood-stained chef's coat and toque, a red neckerchief, and a large brown handlebar mustache above their snout. Their knives have been replaced by giant blood-stained pizza cutters attached to metal stumps extending below their sleeves.
Personality[]
“ | The monkeys... I can sense their desires. Their souls whisper to me. The ones in the kitchen frighten me the most. The mutterings are random and no longer human, but they are the most violent of wishes. I've learned that the mortal souls of murderers are imprisoned inside each one. In life, they abandoned their humanity. They gave in to their urge to kill. They chose to become monsters. Now they continue on in this place as monstrous Murder Monkeys. | ” |
– E's first note, describing the nature of the Murder Monkeys |
Much like their fellow monsters in the Dark Dimension, the Monkeys are unwaveringly loyal to Malak, aiding the demon lord in his conquest to protect the ring pieces and keep his might eternal. It is likely that the Chef Monkeys are the immediate superiors of the Murder Monkeys, being more sadistic, deranged, and bloodthirsty than the rest. As chefs, it is possible that they are cannibals in real life, using their expertise in their new form to share the joy of feasting on their victims with the other monkeys. A painting showing a Murder Monkey's face superimposed on "Saturn Devouring His Son" is likely meant to showcase their cannibalistic tendencies.
Abilities[]
Speed Boost[]
Chef Monkeys speed up whenever they are close enough to the player, being slightly faster than their normal counterparts.
Telepathy[]
Compared to the Murder Monkeys, Chef Monkeys cannot be fooled with Vanish, and they are always aware of the player's location regardless of distance (unlike the Murder Monkeys, who may lose track of the player if they get far enough).[1]
Dark Deception[]
The Chef Monkeys are the bosses of the game's first level, Monkey Business.
Three Chef Monkeys appear after collecting all of the soul shards. One comes out of the kitchen and immediately gives chase, while the other two guard the entrances to the ring altar, only following Doug upon spotting him. The Chef Monkeys function almost identically to their regular counterparts, constantly aware of Doug's location and taking the quickest path to reach him. They are slightly faster than their counterparts, but they can still be stunned with the Stun Orb (if not collected yet) and, as shown if the level is revisited, Primal Fear. They disappear once Doug retrieves the ring piece.
Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals[]
"Are you not aware that she offers only lies?" This article contains information on a subject that isn't considered canon in Dark Deception franchise.
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Chef Monkeys appear when summoned by the "Boss Time" item in the "Monkey Business" map. They appear in pairs and will pursue any monster or mortal they come across at breakneck speeds, killing them in seconds if they manage to reach them.
Like other bosses, Chef Monkeys are invulnerable to all attacks, leaving the player no choice but to run from them. While characters in the speed class can easily avoid them, slower characters will need to either use an item or the ability to escape them or run away until a minute has passed.
Team | Bosses |
Class | Balanced |
Weapon | Great Pizza Cutter Hands |
Health | Immortal |
Speed | Fast (arms up) Slow (arms down) |
Damage | 15 (per hit) |
Themes[]
- This is for the boss character. For the themes of their deadly abode, see The Hotel.
Symbolism[]
Going by the theory suggesting that each nightmare portal is tied to one of Dante Alighieri's Nine Layers of Hell, with the monsters inside them being manifestations of sin, the Chef Monkeys, alongside their fellow brethen, Murder Monkeys, might symbolize Violence. They embody the souls of violent murderers and psychopaths who sacrificed their humanity to satiate their animalistic urges to kill and slaughter, their crazed blood lust and savagery making them on par with mankind's less-civilized cousins. Being mindless mechanical primates with a taste for blood, the Murder Monkeys essentially lack the rage of Agatha, nor the dutiful demeanor of Mama Bear, or even the teamwork of the Joy Joy Gang. As they are presumably the most violent of mortals, being somehow worse than the average Murder Monkey, the Chef Monkeys are likely the twisted souls of cannibalistic serial killers with a taste for human flesh, which is represented by their chef uniforms and pizza cutter hands instead of knives. They also seem to be the ones who wrote the "Welcome: Breakfast & Murder Free Everyday Until 10:00 AM" signs in the lobby and the kitchen. And if that is the case, then that means that the Chef Monkeys not only kill mortals, but they also serve them up to their fellow monsters as a tasty meal. They seem to represent how Doug gave into his primal desire of violence repeatedly through the abuse of his wife, daughter and many mistresses, to the point of murdering his own family (intentionally or otherwise) by setting up the car accident in the first place.
If the player look around the hotel, they can see paintings showing three Murder Monkeys posed like the Three Wise Monkeys, a well-known pictorial maxim from Japanese culture that presents a basic proverbial principle. The left monkey is covering its mouth with its knife hands, representing Iwazaru, who speaks no evil. The middle one has its knife hands over its eyes, referencing Mizaru, who sees no evil. The right monkey shields its ears with its knife hands, referencing Kikazaru, who hears no evil. This shows how, even when murderers are aware of right and wrong, their actions prove that they choose to disregard the knowledge of good and evil as stupid and useless. In essence, the Murder Monkeys are mocking morals and the concept of morality itself, considering those things as signs of weakness that separate the lowly victims from the dominant murderers. However, the Murder Monkeys can also be interpreted as ironically following this principle. The proverb of the Three Wise Monkeys has often be used to refer to those who deal with sin by turning a blind eye. By pretending that wrongdoings (whether committed by themselves or by others) never happened, some murderers can "wash their hands" and hide away the proof of what was done (or at least excuse themselves of their involvement in it). Ignorance and denial of evil acts is not a neutral choice since it does nothing for the sake of the victims, essentially obstructing justice and serving as a useful tool for criminals. For cannibals like the Chef Monkeys, the cooking and complete consumption of their victims can be seen as a more secure way of discarding evidence, which aligns with the idea that the Three Wise Monkeys are an allegory for pretending a wrongdoing never happened.
Phobias[]
As with most monsters in Dark Deception, Chef Monkeys also likely represent various phobias.
Phobia | Relevance |
---|---|
Aichmophobia Fear of Sharp Objects |
Like all monsters in Dark Deception, Chef Monkeys are creatures full of murderous intent, perhaps even more so than others given how they were murderers in their previous lives. As is the case for Murder Monkeys, Dread Duckies, the Doom Ducky, Mama Bear, and Trigger Teddies, Chef Monkeys take the form of a child's plaything (in its case, a mechanical one) twisted from its original, innocent form (as indicated by their sharp, bloody teeth and pizza cutters, which take up their whole hand, for these creatures are not meant to know or do anything except kill). The robotic nature of the Chef Monkeys reflects how cannibals eventually treat their actions, a normal routine that their life centers around, as indicated by the "Welcome: Breakfast & Murder Free Everyday Until 10:00 AM" signs in the lobby and the kitchen. In real life, some killers keep around the remains of their victims as items (skinned kills, bowls, house displays, masks), showing just how desensitized and obsessed they are to the grotesque nature of their sins. |
Automatonophobia Fear of Humanoids and/or Robots | |
Hemophobia Fear of Blood | |
Ludilophobia Fear of Toys | |
Mageirocophobia Fear of Cooking | |
Ososphobia Fear of Cannibalism | |
Pithecophobia Fear of Apes, Monkeys, and Primates | |
Thanatophobia Fear of Death | |
Zoophobia Fear of Animals |
Trivia[]
- The Chef Monkeys appearing in the kitchen after the player collects all the shards may be a callback to a much earlier version of the "Monkey Business" level, where several normal Murder Monkeys are seen chopping up food in the kitchen area of The Hotel, serving only as part of the background as opposed to actual enemies.
- Interestingly enough, the animation used by monkeys in the kitchen of the alpha version is named monkey_chef.
- Chef Monkeys are the first bosses encountered in the game, but not the first ones implemented, as the Doom Ducky was in the game prior to Dark Deception Enhanced, which added bosses to the levels before Stranger Sewers.
- They are the only boss characters who disappear entirely for the remainder of the nightmare level after obtaining the ring piece. All the other bosses are shown to battle and pursue the player to prevent any means of escape with the ring pieces.
Gallery[]