The Monkey: The BRWC Review. By Josiah teal.

Based on Stephen King’s short story, The Monkey promises supernatural terror from the title to the trailer to the opening scene. With James Wan (co-creator of Saw and creator of The Conjuring) as producer and Osgood Perkins (writer and director of Longlegs) serving as writer and director, The Monkey promises “event cinema” for horror fans in its credits. But who knows what terror will unfold when a young father tries to return an ominous toy monkey to a pawn shop? And what would cause that man to set the toy ablaze and leave his family forever? 

Years later, twin brothers Hal & Bill (Christian Convery) find a bizarre toy Monkey in the closet of their Dad’s old belongings. After discovering the Monkey, a string of violent deaths follows the brothers until they decide to rid themselves of it, sending it down an abandoned well, hoping to end the cycle of death. Twenty-five years later, the grisly deaths return, as a grown-up Hal (Theo James) and his son Petey (Colin O’Brien) must find the Monkey before the drumroll stops and it claims its next victim. 

Performances in The Monkey match perfectly within King’s world and Perkin’s direction. Tatiana Maslany is hilarious as the grieving Lois dishes out equally the best and worst parenting, dancing away funeral days and delivering some dark laughs. Elijah Wood has a delightful cameo, and Christian Convery displays an excellent range of roles in the dual role of young Hal & Bill. While Colin O’Brien’s Petey is underdeveloped, O’Brien still conveys a sense of angst with each scene. Theo James is the biggest standout, as he adds depth to the brothers and plays each gruesome death like a master of horror-comedy. 

Adapting a thirty-page short story into a feature film is a challenge. The premise is solid, with plenty of room to expand, and most expansions are welcome. Perkins packs the script with wicked laughs, extravagant macabre kills, and enough thrills to keep an audience engaged from start to finish. Influences from King’s other work, 2020s “elevated horror,” and even a little Final Destination allow The Monkey to spread its black comedy wings while staying scary to the blood-soaked bitter end. 

Coming off the blending of art-house meets grindhouse in Longlegs, Perkins further establishes his range as a writer and director with The Monkey. The film captures the vintage ethos of a video store cult classic with the filmmaking techniques of a modern horror flick. Osgood Perkins, being the son of the original slasher Anthony Perkins of Psycho, seems like the fulfillment of horror movie prophecy (Osgood even plays young Norman in Psycho II). While The Monkey may not soar to the heights of Longlongs, it still cements Perkins as a major player in the genre, showcases the range of its main cast, and delivers another stellar Stephen King adaptation. So much so that seeing more Stephen King adaptations from Perkins and/or Neon Productions would be a welcome sight to the horror landscape.  

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