The Monkey
review by Bobby Blakey
Director Osgood Perkins had a major hit with his fantastically creepy film Longlegs in 2024. Now he is back once again with his latest film, The Monkey, adapted from the Stephen King short story and starring Theo James, Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, and Laura Mennell. Could Perkins manage to not only do King’s story justice as well as deliver another unique film or will it fail to turn the key?
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The Monkey follows a series of gruesome deaths that starts after twin brothers Bill and Hal find their father's old monkey toy in the attic. The siblings decide to throw the toy away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years.
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As a fan of Perkins’ film Longlegs, I was already interested in anything he does moving forward. The trailers were engaging and looked to be a crazy fun time, but the film is a lot different than what I had envisioned in the best way possible. I was expecting a darker horror film and while those elements are very much here, the end results are way quirkier and strange, taking it to a whole new level and I loved every minute.
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The film dives right into to let you know that the whole vibe is craziness and weird in a way that delivers. The story is deep enough to keep you invested while offering some twists here and there, but also not spoon feeding you answers and reasons for everything. Some of the insanity is just here and I love it for that. You don’t always need an explanation and often make it creepier. The film knows what it is and leans into in in every way to deliver a violent and bloody fun ride that is strange and fun all at once.
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There are two layers to the story as we spend part of the time with the young twin brothers and the horrors of their lives before jumping ahead to the present-day tale. Throughout both stories we are introduced to numerous strange and sleezy characters with very few other than Hal being likable. Hal is tortured and abused by everyone in some way or another and leads to the path that the curse will drive through the years, but not in the way you may think.
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I was surprised how much comedy elements are infused here but still makes sure to keep it grounded in the horror and depth of the struggles of their lives. The kills are over the top and fun to watch in all their detailed gruesome details. It goes all in with the gore, letting the bodies blow up, get decapitated, impaled, shot and so many other things that make sure you get all the blood you can want. The killing elements reminded me of those in films like Final Destination with it putting its own spin on the theme to be its own animal.
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I have not read the original King story but headed into this film looking forward to seeing what Perkins had to say and left loving every aspect of this gory good time. It’s not a film that will work for everyone, but for me it is a big win and one I will no doubt revisit numerous times.
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Grab your copy of The Monkey available now on Blu-ray and DVD as well as streaming on Hulu from NEON.