The Monkey: A Ridiculous Gore-Soaked Romp

Following the mediocre reception to the massively anticipated Long Legs, Osgood Perkins needed to prove to his fans that he could make something that wouldn’t disappoint. Whether The Monkey hits that mark, however, is going to vary greatly depending on the viewer. Based on a Stephen King short story of the same name, The Monkey follows two twin brothers as children, then after a significant time skip- as adults. As children, the twins Hal and Petey discover a terrifying monkey toy that makes people around it die in over-the-top theatrical ways when the key on its back is turned. As adults, Hal (played by Theo James) gets the news that their aunt has died and begins to suspect the titular monkey is back in operation as bizarre deaths begin to sweep his hometown. 

Frightening Premise, Strange Execution

Despite the initially scary concept of a malevolent force that can kill anyone with deterministic cruelty, it plays out almost entirely as a comedy in The Monkey. For horror fanatics, this may be disappointing as some of the marketing material could lead you to believe this would be a frightening film and even though it may be conceptually terrifying, in execution it’s intentionally silly. The overall structure of The Monkey is a clear homage (or rip-off depending on who you ask) to the Final Destination series where the draw of the movie is seeing how the victims of the force will meet their convoluted end. However, whereas almost every death in the Final Destination is relatively creative or surprising, in The Monkey only four or so deaths feel zany enough to be entertaining. Without spoiling, there is a stand-out death at the midpoint of the movie that delivers some truly nail-biting visuals and concepts but nothing else quite reaches those heights.

An Attempt at an Emotional Core

The other aspect of The Monkey that audiences will notice is its awkward yet somewhat sweet dynamic between Hal and his estranged son who joins him for the latter half of the film. However, similar to the clash between horror and comedy, it’s unclear how serious Perkins wants us to take this relationship because almost every interaction between the father and son feels surreal and awkward. Overall, this just stands to highlight the main appeal or downside of this movie depending on taste: the tonal clashing. For those seeking a ridiculous splatter comedy, this will do the trick nicely. On the other hand, if you’re seeking an experience that will raise your hair and leave you checking over your shoulder after leaving the theater then you might want to check out some different recent horror films such as Oddity or The First Omen which are sure to have you leaving the lights on.