Because it is based on a 1980 short story by Stephen King and directed and written by Osgood Perkins who gave us such frightening movies like ‘Longlegs,’ I was quite pleasantly surprised that ‘The Monkey’ is as hilarious as it is creepy. The film takes great joy in the irony and the gruesome nature of the deaths that happen in the story. It takes a comic approach to make large-scale set ups that maximizes brutal scenes of accidental murder. Unlike ‘Longlegs’ where Perkins disturbs us with a slow build-up of tension and dread, ‘The Monkey’ is in-you-face with the violence. You know it’s coming, and the outrageousness of its execution and the extremity of its bloody effects are what makes you laugh. The horror is the idea of how and why it is happening.
At the heart of the story is the relationship of twin brothers, Hal and Bill Shelburn. The two couldn’t be more opposite of each other. Bill is a horrible bully and takes pride in torturing his younger brother. Hal is kinder, softer, and does not know how to fight back. Their father is missing all their lives and their mother takes a more care-free, free-spirited approach to raising her two boys. The twins do enjoy going over their father’s stuff as he happens to have been a hoarder and a collector of an eclectic items from all over the world. This includes a toy monkey that never goes away and, if you wind it up, ends up killing someone randomly in the most horrible of ways possible.
Traumatized by the first accidental killing, Hal realises the monkey is to blame somehow. He then tries to use the monkey to kill Bill but the monkey “doesn’t take requests.” The death sends the twins into a tragedy that forces them to throw away the toy down a well and have been estranged ever since.
Now grown-up, Hal trying to live a quiet, peaceful life. The trauma of his experience with the monkey has left him isolated and introverted and will only see his son once a year, for his son’s safety. But on their visit, he is told his aunt is dead and he must reclaim her things and one of them is the monkey. Suddenly, Hal’s old hometown is experiencing a slew of outrageous accidental deaths, and he knows the monkey is loose and someone is winding him up.
Through the narration of Hal, the film takes on a cynical and jaded look at the world that gives a world view that everyone is essentially mean and cruel. It seems that Hal is the only person who is trying to protect people, and this even puts a wedge between him and his son, Petey. Despite how bad things get, and how awful people turn out to be, Hal is desperately trying to stay sane and good.
It’s quite an interesting little dark fable that is a refreshing take on the demonic toy narrative. By leaning into its humor, it finds a new one to be enjoyable. It’s still creepy – just the design of the toy monkey is enough to send shivers down your spine – and the way Perkins shoots the toy creates enough horror to amplify the terrifying thought that the world is filled with bad people.
I’ve never been a big fan of Theo James as an actor, but he fits so well playing the double role of Hal and Bill, the older versions. Both characters are so different from each other and James manages to create a texture for both that suits the tone of the film so well. Playing the younger version, Christian Convery does an excellent job playing Hal but doesn’t let his Bill because as scary and as sinister as he could be. It’s such a joy to see Tatiana Maslany on the big screen. I’m a huge fan of her because of her work in ‘Orphan Black’ and playing the role of the twins’ mother allows a special place for both warmth and recklessness. She’s a bitter woman who is trying her best to save whatever love she still has for her kids. It’s such a nuanced performance that it helps ground the film despite its strangeness.
‘The Monkey’ is a fun little twist that I could use a bit more of these days. It’s nice to see a horror film have a lot of fun with its audience and its own self.
My Rating:
The Monkey is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.
