“It kills who it wants when it feels like it.” So narrates Theo James’ Hal, the poor sod at the heart of The Monkey, an enjoyably gory horror-thriller that is as funny as it is stomach-churning. First thing’s first: this is the new film from Osgood Perkins, the actor-turned-writer/director who gave us 2024’s breakout hit Longlegs, with Nicolas Cage. This is every bit as surprising, twisted and, as the poster says, “fucked up”.
Adapted from the 1980 short story by Stephen King, The Monkey is a fable about sibling rivalry which begins when Hal’s father (Severance star Adam Scott), runs into a store with a miniature model monkey – a creepy-looking creature that beats a toy drum when the key in its back is turned. Covered in blood, Scott’s character already knows what hell this beast unleashes: the moment it finishes its tuneless noise, someone will die horribly.
This evil (and very random) beastie soon falls into the possesion of young Hal and brother Bill, both played convincingly by Christian Convery. Twins by birth, these boys aren’t exactly devoted to each other, with Bill the ever-so-slightly older, stronger and more vicious of the two, prone to bullying Hal and calling him “dumb shit” whenever possible.
They swiftly come to realise the power of this hirsute horror when their babysitter (named Annie Wilkes, in a neat nod to the character from King’s Misery) has her head sliced off in a Japanese restaurant. Much worse is to come from this “bad magic killer monkey”, until the boys – now living in Maine – throw it down a well in the hope that it stays there for good.
Moving the action on 25 years, The White Lotus star Theo James now takes on the dual roles. Hal hasn’t seen Bill in years, and his main concern is being a father to teenage son Petey (Colin O’Brien), whom he deliberately only sees once a year – for fear that something might happen to him. Needless to say, the Monkey makes a re-appearance – as does Bill – and the deaths start to alarmingly stack up.
While The Monkey isn’t particularly scary, that’s not really the point. The enjoyment comes as Perkins (and King) delight in delivering increasingly nasty ways to die. You want to see someone trampled by wild horses until their body looks like the innards of a cherry pie? You got it. Or how about watching another dive into an electrically charged swimming pool? Very well then. It’s like Final Destination on steroids.
The Monkey is produced by James Wan, the director who brought us the Saw franchise – a series of films all about finding inventive ways to dismember human beings. But The Monkey feels different to Saw, largely thanks to James’ double turn as two brothers at each other’s throats. You’d be hard-pressed to call it moving, but at least there’s an emotional narrative that drags us through the grisly bits. Sick, dark and laugh-out-loud nuts.
Details
- Director: Osgood Perkins
- Starring: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Adam Scott
- Release date: February 21 (in cinemas)