The Monkey – Film Review
Reviewed by Harris Dang on the 19th of February 2025
Roadshow Films presents a film by Osgood Perkins
Screenplay by Osgood Perkins Based on “The Monkey” by Stephen King
Produced by James Wan, Dave Caplan, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and Chris Ferguson
Starring Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, Tess Degenstein, and Sarah Levy
Cinematography Nico Aguilar
Edited by Greg Ng and Graham Fortin
Music by Edo Van Breemen
Rating: MA15+
Running time: 98 minutes
Release Date: the 20th of February 2025
Spanning across 25 years, The Monkey tells the story of twin brothers Hal and Bill (Christian Convery). Bill is the more assertive, aggressive, and unruly of the two. His god-awful behaviour is so reprehensible he makes bullies in reality shows resemble beacons of peace and harmony. Hal is more submissive, and his taciturn demeanour makes him look almost normal in comparison.
But nothing is normal about their family situation. In a hilariously gut-wrenching opening scene, we discover their absent father (Adam Scott, in an amusing cameo) has acquired a gift for their birthday, which is a vintage toy monkey. But soon after the brothers acquire it, a string of mysterious, gruesome deaths unfold around them. With their emotionally strung mother by their side (played with heightened tact by Tatiana Maslany), the brothers conceal the monkey and separate for good.
25 years later, present-day Bill (Theo James) has a terrible job, has gone through a divorce, and is hoping to make amends with his son, Petey (Colin O’Brien). Yet as the expression goes, it not only rains but pours, as Bill hears from Hal (Theo James) that the harbinger of doom is back on the loose. Will the three settle their differences and bring down the furry little demon for good?
The Monkey is the latest film from horror filmmaker Osgood Perkins. Best known for his indie horror hit Longlegs last year, he is back with not one, but two horror films this year. While Keeper (which also stars Tatiana Maslany) is said to be more serious fare, The Monkey is Perkins’ first dive into comedy. It has been said in interviews that Perkins’ saw the outline for the film, and it was meant to be a deadly serious film. But seeing that the film revolved around a toy monkey, he decided to see the funny side to it. And thank goodness for that.
The source material may be from acclaimed horror author Stephen King. However, the film itself is not reverent to its source, but to the spirit of Perkins and King themselves. With the unreliable narration from Theo James (which echoes Stand By Me in a parodic way) to the childlike wonder and cynicism from the brothers (which echoes IT and others) to the horror imagery of the monkey (too many to list of King’s oeuvre) to the motivations of the characters that mix fantasy and reality to convey a dark allegory (The Shining, Cujo); The Monkey is as much as an amusing riff of King as well as love letter to King.
But on a deeper level, The Monkey can also be seen as a way for Perkins to grapple with his dances with death. Loved ones die around Hal and Bill constantly in The Monkey. And while they are inherently tragic and feel targeted toward the brothers, the story lays it on thick that it is just like life. The lackadaisical attitude through what is seen as bleak subject matter should feel at odds with the themes. But Perkins knows all too well about the impermanence of life and mines the comedy from it with sadistic glee. Not only does he mix macabre humour with horror tropes involving generational trauma, he tops it off with by making a cameo that earns some of the biggest laughs. Having prior knowledge to Perkins’ own family history only makes the film even more bizarre.
It also helps that Perkins knows that horror and comedy are not all that dissimilar in how they are executed (pun intended). The suspense is in the build-up and the humour comes from the audience participation in how it will all play out and the punch-line results in spectacularly abominable ways. Perkins clearly has no care for realism, logic, and plausibility in how they unfold and it is all the better for it. Imagine Mousetrap as an intricate game of death and it sums up all the striking set-pieces. A lot of offbeat touches (the use of a cheering section in the bleakest of moments is inspired) and sharp editing from Graham Fortin and Greg Ng also adds punch to the humour as the use of jump-cuts accentuates the impact, leading to both shock and hilarity.
Speaking of shock and hilarity, the cast manage to portray the perfect balance of acting pantomime and deadpan aloofness. Led by Theo James in dual roles, he manages to portray both through the emotionally covert Bill and the caddish Hal with admirable dexterity. Noteworthy supporting roles include Elijah Wood (who plays a parenthood guru), Rohan Campbell as a deadbeat who literally cannot see straight, Tess Degenstein as an airhead real estate agent, and Nicco Del Rio as a pastor who has a unique way with words over the Lord Jesus Christ.
Overall, The Monkey is a wildly entertaining, outrageously violent and gut-bustingly [sic] funny piece of work from Osgood Perkins that shows he is as capably gifted with comedy as he is with horror. Highly recommended.
Summary: A wildly entertaining, outrageously violent and gut-bustingly funny piece of work from Osgood Perkins that shows he is as capably gifted with comedy as he is with horror.
4
Strong
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