An alternate poster for Osgood Perkins’ “The Monkey” states: “It’s a movie about twin brothers who discover a toy monkey that likes killing their family. There is outrageous violence, shocking gore and unspeakable tragedies. For Osgood Perkins, ‘It’s pretty f*****g funny.’”
The poster’s edgy and annoying statement gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect from Perkins’ latest film: a lot of blood and a dark sense of humor.
Perkins, despite having been in the horror game for a while, has recently gained notoriety for his summer hit “Longlegs,” a divisive but popular film starring Maika Monroe and Nicholas Cage. If you liked “Longlegs,” then chances are you won’t like “The Monkey.” If you didn’t like “Longlegs,” then you also probably won’t like “The Monkey.”
The film is based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name, and follows Hal and Bill, brothers who despise each other. As the poster states, they find a magic toy monkey with a thirst for blood, leading to a rampage of death surrounding them. The monkey returns 25 years after they believe they vanquished it, and Hal — now a father — sets out to get rid of it.
The movie does not take itself seriously in the slightest. This is evident from the opening sequence, in which actor Adam Scott, who plays the boys’ father, tries to slay the toy monkey by burning it with a flamethrower.
For a movie that claims to have “outrageous violence” and “shocking gore,” it’s pretty tame. Yes, there’s a lot of blood and gore, but most of it is forgettable, with the exception of one kill near the end of the movie.
The humor of “The Monkey” is interesting. Some of it works. A lot of it does not. A majority of the humor comes from the shock of someone brutally dying. If that’s your thing then you’ll have a blast, but a lot of it is eye roll worthy.
The monkey itself is the best part of the movie. It has a simple yet effective design, and it’s fun when it begins playing the drums, signifying someone’s impending doom.
The monkey has similar powers to the spirit of death in the “Final Destination” franchise. It is a malevolent force that seems to bend reality to its will, resulting in bloody deaths that seem like freak accidents. Unfortunately for “The Monkey,” the kills are not as creative or as fun as “Final Destination.”
A frustrating aspect of the movie is how long it takes to transition from the brother’s adolescence to their adulthood. The film spends an outsized amount of its already short runtime with Hal and Bill as children. This sequence is important, as it shows how they found the monkey, the trauma they have from it and the strains on their relationship.
However, the setup in the beginning could have been executed much more efficiently. By spending so much time with young Hal and Bill, we spend less time with adult Hal and Bill, which is annoying because one of the most important relationships is between Hal and his son, Petey. Because of the lack of time, Petey is not a fully explored character, and is instead just a way to add tension to the story.
In a film where its main focus is exploring complicated family dynamics, it should’ve taken more time to explore Petey as a character. The relationship between Hal and Bill is fine, but because the movie refuses to ever take itself seriously, the emotional moments are undercut with annoying jokes.
Though I would’ve liked it if the movie spent less time with the younger versions of the brothers, I still liked some moments of their young lives. Tatiana Maslany is especially great as the boy’s pessimistic yet loving mother.
Osgood Perkins’ latest feature is a mess, and not just because of the buckets of blood.
