Last year’s Longlegs set the horror world alight with its remarkably gloomy and strange take on Satanism and serial killers. It also had a particularly startling Nicolas Cage appearance which always helps. Its writer-director Osgood Perkins has previously delivered three quiet, atmospheric horror films which aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. A lot of mood, not a lot of action. Following up Longlegs, Perkins shows he’s just as adept at excessive gore with his adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, The Monkey.
Effectively, Perkins’ The Monkey will either work for you or it won’t. You’ll know within the first few minutes if the concept of a demonic toy (don’t call it a toy!) monkey supernaturally causing obscenely bloody deaths for comedic effect is up your alley, then you’ll have a great time. If it’s not, you likely won’t. The film explores themes like fearing possible futures to the detriment of the present and childhood trauma giving way to adulthood phobias and resentment. But really it’s a funny movie about over-the-top bodily harm.
The story follows twin brothers Bill and Hal (played as adults by Theo James, as children by Christian Convery). As kids, Hal is a thoughtful, bullied loner while Bill is kinda stupid, a bully, and an asshole. They live with their mother Lois (Tatiana Maslany), an upbeat realist who never minces words about the unfairness of the world. One evening, the boys find a large box among their absentee father’s stuff. Opening it reveals a pretty large, quite ugly wind-up monkey drummer. You know the one, it’s on the poster. After winding it, their babysitter meets a grisly end. At first, only Hal seems to notice a correlation.
The narrative cuts between these flashbacks to present day as grown up Hal narrates. His loner status has gone to ridiculous self-imposed lengths, cutting off contact with every member of his family for fear that the monkey—thought gotten rid of years ago—might reappear. Well, friends, it does reappear, and at the worst possible time. Hal is on a final week-long trip with his estranged son Petey (Colin O’Brien), with whom has has almost no relationship anyway. Bodies (or what’s left of them) begin piling up as Hal tries to track down the monkey before it kills everyone.
The Monkey has a similar visual language to Longlegs. Exteriors are either dreary and desolate or pitch-black at night. The light is warm in a creepy ’70s way. You can tell the two movies come from the same director. The tones and approaches to the material, however, couldn’t be more different. I think the best description for the kind of movie The Monkey is would be “Splatter Comedy” rather than “Horror Comedy.” Despite a few well-executed scare moments, and the monkey’s horrifying visage, the aim is rarely to frighten. The deaths come fast, loud, explosive. Often we get no wind-up, the moment before the shower of blood little more than enough to register the inevitable.
During my press screening, a woman walked out about halfway through. Again, you either vibe with splatter or you don’t. But I think to leave early is to miss the ultimate point of the movie. Like Lois herself, Perkins seems to come down on the side of the cheerful nihilist. No sense getting too attached, but likewise no sense being too scared, or angry, or sad. The tagline perfectly illustrates this. “Everybody dies and that’s fucked up.” Couldn’t agree more, movie! In a lot of ways, the movie offers a path toward enlightenment with regard to death, but I’ll leave that for you to discover.
Theo James is excellent in the movie. His narration is dry and punchy as Hal, playing a relatively good-hearted person for whom this curse is something to avoid to the point of insanity. He’s much more cartoonish but still excellent as Bill, a character who clearly peaked at age 12 and has been angry ever since. Maslany is hilarious, both supremely realistic and optimistic raising disgusting boys. Several other great actors show up for a scene or two and make their mark. Elijah Wood, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott, and Perkins himself all really sparkle in absurd ways.
I really enjoyed The Monkey and it gave me what I needed. It’s not perfect, of course. I think at times the heart of the movie is glossed over too quickly, especially with Hal and Petey. Liking Hal is tough at the best of times and in a movie this otherwise unsubtle, I could have used a little more direct action from the character. But I again hasten to point out, this isn’t Longlegs, so definitely don’t expect it to be in the same ballpark. This is a comedy about horrific, bloody deaths. If that kind of thing makes you laugh, you’ll really enjoy it too.
The Monkey hits theaters Friday, Feb 21, 2025.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.