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Review: ‘The Monkey’ is a Blood-Splattered and Hilarious Twist on a Tried-and-True Horror Staple
February 19, 2025Ben MK
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Take a scroll through the horror section of any of the major streaming services, and you're bound to encounter more than a few movies about curses. Whether it's Hollywood remakes of J-horror cult classics like The Ring and The Grudge or more contemporary frightfests like Ouija and Annabelle, the genre is full of films about characters who become the unwitting targets of malevolent supernatural forces that won't rest until all of its victims are dead. And with his latest spooky tale, The Monkey, writer-director Osgood Perkins is following up his horror hit Longlegs with his own terrifying twist on that venerable sub-genre, in this big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's 1980 short story. The year is 1999, and for twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn (Christian Convery), family life hasn't exactly been picture-perfect. Abandoned by their pilot father (Adam Scott) and raised by their mother, Lois (Tatiana Maslany), the pair may share the face and the same bedroom, but when it comes to similarities, that's pretty much where things end. The more shy and mild-mannered of the two, Hal has a hard time getting along with his brother, Bill, who rarely misses an opportunity to bully his timid sibling. However, when the brothers find a seemingly innocuous toy monkey while rifling through their father's old belongings one day, they soon discover a common enemy — one that can't and won't be vanquished in the usual ways. At first, the monkey's ties to the gruesome and surprising deaths around them could easily be construed as an eerie coincidence. But when Lois dies of a spectacularly bloody brain aneurysm — leading the boys to throw the monkey down a well just before being driven off to live in another state with their aunt and uncle — it leaves little doubt about the entity responsible. Fast forward 25 years, and Hal (Theo James) hasn't forgotten about the monkey that terrorized him when he was a child. Now a grown man with an estranged teenage son of his own, Hal has done his best to keep his distance from all friends and family, only seeing his son, Peter (Colin O'Brien), once a year. As much as he'd like to leave his trauma in the past, though, it appears that fate has other plans in mind. And when Hal receives news that his aunt has passed away from some very unnatural causes, it suddenly becomes clear that the monkey is back with a vengeance. Getting back in touch with Bill, whom he hasn't seen in years, Hal begins to formulate a plan for dealing with this unexpected but not entirely unforeseen predicament. Little does he realize, however, that Bill has been harboring a grudge against him . And when the monkey's body count starts to skyrocket, not only will it be up to Hal and Petey to try and stop it — they'll also have to contend with Bill as well. A blood-splattered, hilarious twist on a tried-and-true horror staple, the result doesn't mess around when it comes to delivering a crowd-pleasing and gore-tastic good time. From watching someone get disemboweled by a whaling harpoon and beheaded by a Hibachi spatula to seeing a swarm of angry hornets bee-line their way into a hapless victim's mouth, The Monkey's delirious hybrid of Looney Tunes-like violence with the kind of formula typically found in the Final Destination movies is quite refreshing indeed. What's most impressive, however, is how Perkins manages to walk that fine line between sinister terror and dark comedy, making this a sure-fire contender for the the most unhinged and uniquely entertaining horror film of the year. Suffice to say, aficionados of over-the-top blood-and-gore storytelling won't be disappointed by what Perkins and company have concocted here. A fitting followup to one of 2024's most acclaimed genre entries, Longlegs, and a delightfully off-kilter blend of hardcore horror and demented comedy, the result is one of the better Stephen King adaptations out there. Just don't expect anything too poignant or thought-provoking, because The Monkey has more in common with the likes of The Running Man than The Green Mile. The Monkey releases February 21st, 2025 from Elevation Pictures. The film has an MPAA rating of R for strong bloody violent content, gore, language throughout and some sexual references. Its runtime is 1 hr. 38 min. |
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