Osgood Perkin’s The Monkey instantly became a must-watch the minute the first teaser trailer landed. It was so maniacally bloody and gruesome that it was hard not to see it as a terrifying but funny celebration of death. To a point, it came off as the Looney Tunes version of splatter. Imagine Wiley Coyote finally blowing up that pesky roadrunner to pieces only to get drenched in his nemesis’ blood as it rained down on him. The Monkey has several instances of these kinds of deaths, most of them ridiculous acts of supernatural murder authored by a creepy drum-playing monkey with a devilish grin.
Now, the critically acclaimed box office hit (it earned some $50 million dollars on a $10 million budget) has finally made it to VOD. It’s available to buy on Prime for $24.99. If this is your first time hearing about the movie, the story follows twin brothers (both played by Theo James) as they get aggressively haunted by a windup toy monkey that plays tiny drums to announce someone’s death.
The movie’s based on the 1980 Stephen King short story of the same name, but they are quite different. The movie version leans heavier on comedy, whereas the short story is a more bizarre and cruel affair due to the random nature of the kills. Perkins’ adaptation is more gleefully violent than King’s original, whereas the original gives the toy monkey a more constant presence that oppresses the twins in different but equally sinister ways. Both versions are worth seeking out, if only to appreciate how vastly each ending differs from the other. To a point, they feel like two completely different stories that share the same interest, namely death.
Like Perkins’ previous film, Longlegs, The Monkey becomes a richer experience the more times you watch it. The setup for each death is so intricate that it invites an exploration of the elements in each scene that are going to either malfunction or go off for a messy outcome. In Longlegs, repeat viewings would net you further sightings of a demonic shadow that stalks the main character in key scenes. And that’s on top of the nuanced tells sprinkled throughout that might hint at the story’s biggest secrets and whether we can trust the answers that spill out or not.
This is becoming a signature quality for Perkins. Another of his previous films, The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015), benefits from repeat viewings as demonic shadows are also found lurking in the background. The Monkey continues this, but in another way. It’s in the details in this one.
As our review of the film noted, there are a few problems with tone, and not every joke lands. But when the movie is running on all cylinders, it makes a strong case for being one of the funniest horror movies of all time. You will laugh at terrible things, but I’d wager that what will truly leave a mark here is the toy monkey and its ungodly grin. It always looks like he enjoys his work too much, and you can’t help but want to try and understand it. Now you have an excuse to do so by either rewatching it or experiencing it for the first time. I hope you come out of the movie knowing not to touch, play, or even lock eyes with a toy that looks like it’s waiting for an excuse to do some evil shit.
English (US) · 