To Kill A Monkey: A Review

To kill a monkey: Movie Review

I felt interested in watching this 2025 Nigerian film, written and directed by Kemi Adetiba, after spotting someone boldly rating it 10/10 under a Netflix Facebook post.

Curious, I clicked play and the story pulled me in immediately. It’s gripping, layered, and emotionally charged. It isn’t just a story about how hard life could be for families; it’s about deep betrayal and how far people will go when they feel unseen. It’s also about revenge.

To Kill A Monkey: A Review

Child Planning

One theme that stood out to me in the first two episodes is child planning. A hot topic in Nigeria today.

Efe, the lead character and his 47-year-old wife, Nosa, admitted they never planned for triplets, their first children; due to their financial status. Efe even said he felt relieved when a doctor told him one of the babies had died. Which is something I found unsettling.

Would Efe have instead cried because ‘fortune’ awaits him which he never knew? The film subtly reflects the argument against childbirth if you’re poor.

To Kill A Monkey: A Review

On the flip side, it appears even the rich do. Like Oboz’s wife, who “go tied her thing,” (I assume she meant stitching up her fallopian tubes) to avoid childbirth and maintain her “end-of-discussion” physique.

“Sis” Idia, lest I forget, I also loved her character because of how she de blow pidgin like the real Warri gurl.

Scattered Plot?

I read a comment somewhere saying the story plot felt scattered. But honestly, if emotions and tension flowed in a straight line, would it even be a story? Life is messy. And fun. So is this film. And that’s what makes it fascinating.

Oboz-Da-Boss

Most of the cast delivered strong performances. Efe stood out both when life crushed him and when he rose.

Still, if I had to pick the most unforgettable character, it’s Oboz. The snake Warri girl, Amanda, described him as loud, vulgar, and a barbarian. I’ll add that he’s ruthless—yet strangely a compelling character.

Oboz said life was once unfair, and that like Efe, he had to beg, too. I wish we got more of that backstory. But what we did get was gold.

To Kill A Monkey: A Review

That bar scene with Efe and Amanda on a paid date? Unforgettable.

“Look at them. Una dey watch me. Dey look at me. Silver spoon oshé—bastards. Una dey craze! Judge me? Yes, I be street boy. I hustle for my money. Nobody give me shishi. Nobody knows me. Now I don get 100s. I go buy all of una. Who una be?!”

Oboz didn’t just explode, he burned the whole room. For Efe to bring Amanda to the bar just to spite Oboz was bad enough, but then he dropped the bomb about Oboz affair with his daughter. That was it!

To Kill A Monkey: A Review

Stereotype?

I read Furera Bagel‘s review this morning and it rightly captured something that stood out for me, too. Why did Kemi choose to portray her fictitious lead character, Efe, his friend Oboz, and Amanda as Warri folks? Regardless, I think Amanda nailed her role. She carried that Warri energy effortlessly. Lol.

Ivie and Nosa

Ivie was Efe’s first daughter, out of wedlock. I wasn’t shocked when she testified against her father. Her love for comfort—and the pain of losing the father of her bastard—her father’s “little brother,” clouded everything.

What surprised me was Efe’s wife, Nosa. She stood by him in poverty. My eyes were wet when she told him everything was fine at the hospital. I thought she’d stick with him till the end. But she filed for divorce and demanded his secret offshore accounts in return for staying silent. I didn’t expect that.

To Kill A Monkey: A Review

She didn’t know that that rainy night, when Efe came home soaked, to find her and Ivie holding the crying twins, that he had hit rock bottom. Ivie had returned out of fear of been raped from her workplace, and the babies were hungry because their mother had stopped producing milk.

Nosa didn’t know that that night broke Efe. It was the moment he gave up his values and took the dirty deal she once begged him to accept. It was the start of their real troubles.

To Kill A Monkey: A Review

Nosa accuses him of cheating because of a clip showing him beside Amanda at a bar. And forgot she was the one who drove him out of the house he built. The one who pushed him toward Amanda’s bed.

She’s not all mad at Efe because she lost her mother. She was scared of losing everything. She’s angry about him killing the doctor she cheated with.

To Kill A Monkey: A Review

The film also explores themes like mental health, sexual abuse (yes, men can be victims too), and the tense dynamics between female bosses and their subordinates.

Again, this story isn’t just about revenge. It’s about deep betrayal and how far people will go when they feel unseen. The good and the bad, have all paid their prices. With the exception of the Cyber Security Inspector, I’ll argue.

To Kill A Monkey: A Review. I felt interested in watching this 2025 Nigerian film, written and directed by Kemi Adetiba, after spotting someone boldly rate it 10/10 under a Netflix Facebook post.

To Kill A Monkey…..!