“The Monkey”
R/Horror/Comedy/98 Mins
Directed & Written by: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Theo James (“The White Lotus”), Rohan Campbell (“Halloween Ends”), Colin O’Brien (“Dear Edward”), Christian Convery (“Sweet Tooth”), Sarah Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”), Elijah Wood (“The Toxic Avenger”), Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”)
Review: “Death comes in threes” is an old timey superstition believed by many. In the case of Osgood Perkins’ newest nightmarish vision “The Monkey”, death comes in 20?…25?…50?! There’s just a lot of DEATH in almost every crevice of this film and it’s all caused by a mechanical windup monkey playing a drum…
“The Monkey” is a loose adaptation of a Stephen King short story of the same name and is directed by Oz Perkins who is the filmmaker behind one of 2024’s best horror films, Longlegs. He’s back not even 7 months later with “The Monkey” and trades the nerve shredding terror of his previous film for something just as dark but much MUCH funnier. “Monkey” follows twin brothers, Hal and Bill, who as kids discover an old toy monkey that belonged to their father inside their attic. Shortly after, strange unexplainable deaths start to plague their lives, taking almost everyone they know away from them. They start to suspect that this child’s toy may be the cause of it. Desperate to get rid of the monkey, they toss it down a well, hoping to put this traumatizing past behind them. Years later, the deaths start to occur again, the two now adult estranged brothers must reunite to “vanquish” (their words) the monkey back to the hell it came from.
Now, I know this premise sounds incredibly dark (and it is) but sprinkled throughout is a TWISTED sense of humor. It is one of the funniest films I’ve seen in months. I don’t know what that says about me…but I had an absolute BLAST! That’s not saying I’m laughing at some deadly serious horror film, this is very much a pitch black comedy that also happens to have horror aspects. The way these horrific death traps play out always have a tongue in cheek (or harpoon in stomach) approach. They mostly will recall the Rube Goldberg machine-ness of the “Final Destination” movies.
However, unlike those films, instead of having each and every detail/possibility be laid out to the audience before the catastrophic conclusion takes place, this film just rips the band-aid off and goes straight for the jugular. It’s gruesome and horrific but it never takes itself seriously and goes for the more over-the-top zany route. Also riddled throughout are some clever payoffs. It may come from a simple slogan on a pamphlet to being referenced again with a violent sight gag.
In a film where almost everything is played for laughs, it would have been the easy decision to cast a comedic actor. Yet, Perkins subverted this by casting Theo James in not one but two roles, portraying the twins. For an actor known for more serious roles, it was a nice surprise to see this good looking movie star type go absolutely batshit with his performance as Bill. James isn’t afraid to be weird or silly, and it shouldn’t work, but the fact that he plays it straight makes it believable. He also has the opportunity to play the other side of the coin with his performance as Hal, who is the more normal of the two. Hal is still awkward and shy, yet he also reacts to the peculiarities of the story in a straight fashion. This benefits the film because it keeps it from falling into the parody category.
Other highlights in the film are the performances of Christian Convery as young Hal & Bill and Rohan Campbell (Corey Cunningham from the very underrated/overhated “Halloween Ends”) as a Joey Ramone wannabe, Ricky. I will also add a hilarious cameo from a certain someone from a popular workplace sitcom in the opening scene set the stage perfectly for what was to follow.
The best thing about “The Monkey” at times was also a detriment to itself. For most of the runtime, the dark comedic tone made for this film to be a highly entertaining time, unfortunately this caused the more dramatic aspects to be shortchanged. Mostly attributed to the father-son aspect with Hal and his son, Petey. I kinda wish there was more emotional heft there when it came to the theme of generational trauma and how it affects the next generation. It can also apply to its suspense. Since every death scene happens so fast, there isn’t really that anticipation of heart pounding terror like I felt from Longlegs. Yet, it still got a reaction out of me, mostly “HOLY SH*T!”, but a reaction nonetheless. However, these are only small gripes in an otherwise fantastic horror-comedy.
It’s been over a week since I’ve seen “The Monkey” and it’s still on my mind. I’m telling ya, this film is BONKERS in all the sickest ways and is best seen with a huge crowd. One of my favorites of the year and it’s gonna be quite a feat for another horror film to beat this one.
Score: 9/10
“The Monkey” is in theaters starting Friday, February 21st.
LINK TO SHOWTIMES HERE!
