‘The Monkey’: Review

Dir: Osgood Perkins. US. 2025. 98mins 

On the heels of his disquieting portrait of evil Longlegs, writer-director Osgood Perkins decides to have somewhat enjoyable together with his new horror movie, delivering an offbeat darkish comedy by which the outlandish quantities of gore are supposed to shock and amuse in equal measure. Based mostly on Stephen King’s quick story, The Monkey follows feuding twin brothers who in childhood encounter a cursed wind-up monkey toy with the inexplicable energy to trigger a random individual to die every time its secret is turned. Theo James provides an attractive twin efficiency because the grownup siblings confronting this supernatural menace, and Perkins flaunts confidence and audacity in conceiving this adaptation as a twisted, pessimistic have a look at household and future. However for all its unpredictability and nerve, the movie too typically feels snarky somewhat than subversive.

Perkins doesn’t have the identical mastery of comedy that he does horror

Opening February 21 within the UK and US, The Monkey has two main promoting factors: Perkins is using excessive after 2024 indie hit Longlegs grossed $127 million worldwide, and King’s recognition stays potent. A intelligent advertising marketing campaign that has emphasised the hyper-violent content material will additional entice hardcore horror followers — particularly those that favor their bloodshed peppered with laughs.

In 1999, soft-spoken boy Hal (Christian Convery) despises his bullying twin brother Invoice (additionally performed by Convery), though each siblings adore their single mother Lois (Tatiana Maslany), whose husband deserted the household way back. Certainly one of their dad’s left-behind objects is an organ grinder monkey, which piques the brothers’ curiosity. Quickly, although, they make a horrible discovery: after they wind up the toy and the monkey begins hitting its drum, somebody dies in a freakish, unintentional method. Realising that they can not destroy the monkey — bizarrely, it retains reappearing, good as new — Hal and Invoice field up the toy and drop it within the backside of a properly, hoping that the cursed object will trigger no extra hurt. It’s a hope that proves to be in useless.

Perkins takes liberties with King’s 1980 story — amongst different issues, the movie options twin brothers, somewhat than a single protagonist — and injects a darkly humorous streak, viewing the proceedings from an ironic, cynical perspective. The Monkey is awash in loss of life however, in contrast to the writer-director’s earlier work, this gravest of topics is handled with a slapstick gruesomeness. Folks meet their finish in disgusting methods and Perkins lingers on pulverised our bodies, decapitated heads and nauseatingly gory wounds, frightening audiences to recoil and cackle concurrently. 

When The Monkey leaps ahead to the current, James’ grownup Hal has determined to keep away from folks — even his family members — as a result of he fears that the monkey might in the future resurface and convey recent distress to these closest to him. Estranged from Invoice, who stays an agonistic jerk, Hal has his worst worry realised, forcing him to reunite together with his brother to allow them to battle this malevolent toy. James provides two dryly comedic performances, which intensify the story’s understanding absurdity. The Monkey by no means explains how this monkey causes random people to die, and the principles governing the toy solely slowly turn into obvious to the twins. As horrific because the deaths are, the sheer illogic of the premise — matched by the cleverly macabre kills — provides the narrative an underlying component of black comedy. 

As an imagemaker, Perkins (assisted by cinematographer Nico Aguilar) creates a gradual stream of hanging visuals that go away the viewer feeling dread even on the most seemingly banal moments. Irrespective of what number of instances we see that toy, it by no means ceases to unnerve — particularly contemplating it has the exceptional potential to pop up when least anticipated. However whereas The Monkey’s snide, gross-out humour provides the proceedings a constant jolt, Perkins doesn’t have the identical mastery of comedy that he does horror. Aspect characters are sometimes too jokey and broad — Elijah Wooden is wasted as Hal’s ex-wife’s condescending new flame — and the monkey’s closely orchestrated random killings begin to have diminishing returns. 

What’s misplaced alongside the best way is a deeper emotional connection. The Monkey tries for example how grief can encourage mourners to go to extremes, however that concept is drowned out by Perkins’ strained gags and one-liners. What made Longlegs so haunting was his potential to concoct an expertly suffocating examination of a serial killer who appeared to function exterior the realm of purpose. Previously, Perkins has wished to sit back us to our core — The Monkey could also be a hanging change of tempo, however he’s much less profitable tickling our humorous bone.