A cursed toy brings misery to a family, but its evil musings may hit a precipitous after decades of laying dormant. Based on a short story by Stephen King, The Monkey is a devious delight from director Osgood Perkins, perfectly blending horror and comedy for a campy tale filled with shock, gore, and malevolent fun.
While digging through their father’s old belongings, twin brothers Hal and Bill come across a vintage toy monkey. With each turn of its key, an accidental death occurs to someone close to them. Believing it to be cursed, the two discard it, hoping it never brings pain to them again.
Many, many years later, the now-grown brothers (Theo James) discover that mysterious and tragic deaths have begun popping up once again. Fearful it’ll hit someone closest to him, Hal attempts to find the toy, as it may have wound up in the wrong hands.
After last year’s wildly successful Longlegs, it may go without saying the follow-up for the filmmaker is highly anticipated, perhaps one of the most anticipated of the year. And with that, comes some pressure.
However, the beauty of The Monkey is that it was completed pre-success, so expectations never waned on the production. This allowed Perkins to unapologetically tackle adapting a literary horror icon’s work into something much bigger.
The original 1980 short story was featured in King’s collection Skeleton Crew, published in 1985, alongside a story that got a fairly beloved film adaptation, “The Mist”. During the Q&A portion of the Chicago premiere, Perkins stated that he had to expand much of the story for a feature-length film, but wanted to ensure it still felt like a Stephen King movie.
Which is an aspect that’s so enjoyable about The Monkey. It’s intentionally crafted to capture King’s essence but with a macabre Perkins twist. From the internal monologuing to the stylistic choices, he successfully captures the overall look and feel. But he still focused on it feeling unique, modernizing the story to set it apart from King’s other adaptations like Stand By Me or It.
Often an auteur of more somber narratives, this film is quite the departure, as Perkins surprisingly delivers an audacious horror comedy. Of course, a film starring an evil magic monkey needs to lean a bit into the camp side of things and Perkins has no shame in doing so. The film is hysterical at times and even in some downright horrific moments, there is such a quirk and maniacal sense to it.
This leads me to say, that this is not a film for the squeamish. It’s filled with gruesome deaths that would make the Final Destination franchise blush. Referring back to Perkins’ Q&A, he mentioned how he’d frequently ask his special effects team to amp things up with more pints of blood and to have fun with it. And that’s what certainly leaves you unable to guess where this film will go at any moment.
Amidst all the chaos, there are some wonderful performances. I often find that acting in a horror comedy can be particularly challenging, as the comedic elements must be delivered effectively in the context of the more serious themes. If not, it can be a tonal mess. Fortunately, the script and the cast do an excellent job handling that.
Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy all deliver in their respective roles. However, the standout is James, who faces the huge task of portraying two distinct characters: Hal and Bill. Each character has unique traits and quirks, and James approaches both roles with remarkable playfulness.
You could also unpack much of the film’s deeper themes such as the duality of twinship, generational trauma, and the complex understanding of life and death (more the fear of dying). But the film never tries to shove any message at us. Even down to its final scene, it’s a film that just wants to be as mischievous as its titular monkey.
But outside of the outlandishness, I still felt that The Monkey carries that wonderful style Perkins offers with his films. I’ve long believed him to be a horror director to watch out for, obviously reaching his monumental moment with Longlegs. And I think this is the perfect film to come after to show audiences he has lots of unexpected tricks to pull.
The Monkey hits theaters February 21
Jordy Reviews It 
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