The Monkey is quite the deal. Based on a short story by Stephen King, it is a blood-soaked dark comedy that plays like a deranged spin on the Final Destination series. The sudden, extremely gory, deaths are essentially the punchlines, getting laughs due to how shocking and, at times, gross they are. The title object is basically portrayed as a grim reaper with a sick sense of humor, finding the perfect comedic timing for its ironic kills. There is a lot of cleverness, as well as some unexpected silliness, here. It isn’t scary, nor is it trying to be.
It is entertaining pretty much the whole way through. However, its tone and style are let down a bit by a story that only exists to set up the death scenes. There isn’t any intrigue or forward momentum for stretches that feel like they are killing time before the next major moment. The movie loses interest whenever the monkey is out of the picture. That’s kind of an issue, yet it isn’t a big one. There are still a lot of pleasures to be had. Especially if you enjoy beheadings.
The Shelburn family is haunted. Not by a ghost, but by a wind-up toy monkey that seems to randomly appear and cause mayhem when its key is turned. When it shows up again years later, old secrets are dug up and nobody is safe.
The Monkey (92 minutes, without the end credits) could be seen as a story about the effects of generational trauma. It sort of is, as the two main characters, identical twin brothers, face the consequences of a curse inadvertently unleashed by their father. Really, though, that is merely the setup. The actual movie doesn’t care so much about themes. It mostly wants to surprise and amuse with exploding body parts. Nearly every other aspect of this is simplistic to the point of getting in the way. While I see what writer/director Osgood Perkins is going for, the lack of narrative engagement takes some of the fun out of this.
Whenever the focus is on the struggles of Hal, either as a shy kid bullied by his brother, or an adult who has isolated himself to protect others from the monkey, it just feels like we are waiting for the monkey to wreak its havoc. The dialogue and character development has the feel of Stephen King’s work, but is even more forced than usual. Since they don’t have a lot to talk about, the language stands out more, not in a positive way.
The only character that is interesting is their mom, Lois, who died in a tragic accident when they were young. She is played by Tatiana Maslany, who definitely makes an impact with relatively limited screen-time. Lois is a massive influence on her sons’ lives and Maslany establishes her importance in short order. She is very good and there are a couple of funny cameos I won’t spoil. Otherwise, the performances are decidedly not the point. The most significant figure is the monkey. All he does is smile creepily and bang a drum, which is always the harbinger of something spectacularly gruesome.
The Monkey is a lot of fun when it cuts loose, less so when it stops to further its narrative. Osgood Perkins has a skill when it comes to ominous noises and shadows. He displayed it in Longlegs in a disturbing way. Here he utilizes it in a goofy way. The fact that he has made two such different projects (albeit in the same genre) in a small span of time proves his versatility as a filmmaker. I would say he should try straight up comedy next, but I think he just did. And it is pretty funny.
3¼ out of 5
Cast:
Theo James as Hal/Bill
Christian Convery as Young Hal/Young Bill
Tatiana Maslany as Lois
Colin O’Brien as Petey
Written/Directed by Osgood Perkins
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