PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Inspired by Stephen King’s short story and produced under James Wan’s Atomic Monster banner, Oz Perkins’ The Monkey focuses on twin brothers Bill and Hall (both played by Theo James: The White Lotus 2022) as they discover a musical toy monkey that is seemingly connected to a series of bizarre and grisly deaths that are happening all around them. Years after they supposedly stopped the cursed wind-up toy, the music starts up again and the monkey returns as the brothers must face the music and their own personal demons.
Hot off the success of his film, Longlegs (2024 – our review), writer and director Oz Perkins expands on King’s short story to feature a richer narrative and inject more profound lore. Rather than a direct adaptation, Perkins views the source material as more of a springboard to create his world, allowing the film to feature many surprises, even for those who read the short story in King’s collection, Skeleton Crew.
What Works
It’s usually best advised to always go into a movie without preconceived notions; however, The Monkey may be an exception to this rule. First and foremost, this film is a comedy, and not just in a standard horro-comedy way. The general dialogue and actions feel like borderline parody. While not as self-referential or over-the-top as Scary Movie (2000 – our retro review), the tone and humor are akin to a “Treehouse of Horrors” episode of The Simpsons. Don’t go into this expecting a serious or scary horror film, because the jarring tone will give you whiplash.
Once you understand the overall vibe Perkins is going for, it’s simply a matter of whether the humor lands. Luckily, most of it does as some funny moments highlight the joy that can come from a good horror-comedy.
In what feels like a loving homage to the Final Destination franchise, most deaths happen through a series of Rube Goldberg-esque traps. This allows for an exciting sense of wonder as one guesses how each character will meet their demise. Sometimes, a death can be played out with a high level of intricacy, and other times, it can be simple and blunt. Either way, there is no denying that The Monkey has earned its R rating. It’s fair to say that it lives up to its tagline: “Everybody dies, and that’s fucked up.”
What Doesn’t Work
The Monkey takes a lot of pride and joy in showcasing death, be it the beauty, tragedy, shockingness, or humor of it all. While there are drumfuls of blood and guts strewn about, there is one glaring flaw that can damper the experience. Most deaths contain horrible CGI that is so poorly rendered that it feels almost intentionally bad. For example, the first death features swinging entrails on full display, but they look as though they were superimposed on top of the frame rather than an actual part of the scene. It feels as though the movie was some demented children’s sticker book with the blood added afterward. It doesn’t get much better later on, but the creativity of the gore outshines this hiccup.
It’s exciting and refreshing to see a wacky horror film like this getting widespread attention. The Monkey feels like a loving call back to the eccentric and zany horror films of yesteryear. Whether it hits all the marks is up for the viewer to decide, but one thing is for sure: this movie is bananas.
