‘The Monkey’ Review: Osgood Perkins’ Energetic but Aggravating Mess of a ‘Longlegs’ Follow-Up

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Picture an actual Looney Tunes scenario where the violence and carnage are portrayed with extreme graphic detail. This is essentially what filmmaker Osgood Perkins intends to achieve with his latest work, following the success of last year’s movie Longlegs. While it’s loosely based on Stephen King’s 1980 short story, The Monkey, this film represents a significant change in style that might appeal to horror enthusiasts as something fresh and exciting or simply come across as absurd. The main stylistic choice is to kill off characters in the most gruesomely exaggerated ways imaginable, but this concept soon becomes repetitive and loses its impact.

Reminiscent of the audaciousness found in classic EC Comics, the film The Monkey, if perhaps more fitting as a segment in George A. Romero and Stephen King’s anthology movie Creepshow, sets up its absurd narrative from the get-go. A visibly frightened man, covered in blood (in a humorous guest appearance by Adam Scott), enters an antique store to sell a mechanical organ grinder’s monkey to the shopkeeper, who appears skeptical. The man’s apprehensions soon become reality as the monkey starts banging its drum, triggering a Rube Goldberg-esque chain reaction that ends with the shopkeeper suffering a gruesome disembowelment.

It’s revealed that the potential vendor was actually the father of twin boys, Hal and Bill (portrayed by Christian Convery). These brothers stumble upon a monkey after his demise, hidden in a box marked “Like Life.” However, this label proves ominously accurate as the two realize that the sinister-looking simian appears to have the ability to trigger sudden, violent deaths at its whim. This is tragically demonstrated during a disastrous outing to a hibachi-style restaurant with their doomed babysitter.

The story repeatedly emphasizes life’s inescapable ending, with this truth underscored by the mother (Tatiana Maslany), who sadly becomes part of this reality. As a result, the children move in with their aunt (Sarah Levy) and uncle (director Perkins, showing his inherited talent for acting from father Anthony). Unfortunately, their uncle meets an extremely gory demise, an event that might make you reconsider eating cherry pie. Later, when they discover they can’t truly destroy the terrifying toy, the children try to get rid of it permanently by throwing it into a well, despite doubting its effectiveness themselves.

Twenty-five years have passed, and Hal, once close with his brother (both portrayed by Theo James), finds himself estranged and hasn’t seen him in years. He is also a father to a teenager (Colin O’Brien), whom he’s had to leave in the care of his ex-wife and her gruff new husband, Elijah Wood, adding some horror movie credibility. Despite this, father and son embark on a road trip together, as a string of grisly deaths starts plaguing their community.

The extravagant and gruesome scenes in Perkins’ production seem to be comical takes on those found in the Final Destination films. However, the death sequences are so exaggerated that they fail to evoke horror or amusement, with the questionable special effects adding to this effect. In interviews, the director admits that their aim was to create an endearing horror movie, but this objective seems doubtful given the final product, as the term “adorable” and “horror” appear too contradictory.

The movie, titled “The Monkey,” has its moments of enjoyment due to Perkins’ distinct stylistic finesse and his energetic delivery of the ridiculous content. If you manage to sync with the film’s eccentric, absurd tone, you might find yourself amused, although it would have been more effective if James had embraced the film’s absurdity instead of portraying it in a deadpan serious manner. Occasionally, an actor playing the straight man can make comedic scenes even more hilarious (Leslie Nielsen’s late career was largely based on this concept), but this isn’t one of those instances.

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2025-02-19 21:24