In a moment saturated with quirky, under the radar, indie horror hitting theaters in quick succession, few got the widespread attention and mainstream attention received by last year’s “Longlegs,” a certifiable summer sleeper hit and the breakout film for writer/director Osgood Perkins. Taut, shocking, and brimming with dread, “Longlegs” quickly found an audience with its tight direction, unrelentingly dreadful atmosphere, and memorable performances. While not without its detractors, especially in regard to its third act twist, the movie catapulted Perkins upward in the world of horror cinema while burdening him with a difficult act to follow, with many expecting him to crank out another bleak, artsy psychological horror. With his new Follow up, “The Monkey,” however, Perkins surprises his audience by giving them something completely different tonally and artistically.
Loosely based on the short story of the same name, penned by Stephen King in his coked out prime, The Monkey tells the story of Hal, a man estranged from his family by a strange generational curse, a drum playing toy monkey with the power to take a life every time it plays its tune, often in absurd, gory fashion. In his last week with custody of his son and with The Monkey awakening from a period of dormancy, Hal, played by Theo James, returns to his hometown to confront the demonic drummer, being followed on the way by a vengeful brother that blames Hal for their mother’s death, also played by James.
Tightly paced with a lean, mean 98 minute runtime, “The Monkey” wastes no time letting the audience know what kind of movie it is, with the opening scene showcasing its style of over the top comedic kills juxtaposed by surreally goofy dialogue delivered with a dry, deadpan wit to complement the blood soaked visuals. Subtlety and seriousness fly out the window as the film approaches and explores grief and death through its cursed family and demonic, death-bringing toy. In an interview with Empire surrounding the film’s release, Perkins explained the mentality behind his approach, which reflects his own views on death in a manner that gives the film a sense of artistic sincerity to elevate it above basic shocks and splatter:
“They (Atomic Monster Studios) had a very serious script. Very serious. I felt it was too serious, and I told them: ‘This doesn’t work for me. The thing with this toy monkey is that the people around it all die in insane ways. So, I thought: Well, I’m an expert on that.’ Both my parents died in insane, headline-making ways.
I spent a lot of my life recovering from tragedy, feeling quite bad. It all seemed inherently unfair. You personalise the grief: ‘Why is this happening to me?’ But I’m older now and you realise this s-t happens to everyone. Everyone dies. Sometimes in their sleep, sometimes in truly insane ways, like I experienced. But everyone dies. And I thought maybe the best way to approach that insane notion is with a smile”
While this approach often works in the film’s favor, taking King’s source material in an entirely new direction guided with and a sincere vision and pitch black sense of humor to control the chaos on screen, “The Monkey” will undoubtedly face backlash from fans and audiences coming with the expectations of another tense, serious psychological thriller like “Longlegs,” leaving the comedy feeling like the joke was on them. Because of this, it may be good to know going in, that this movie is loudly and proudly silly, stupid, and revels in this fact.
“The Monkey” is the first cinematic surprise of 2025, defying expectations and marching to the beat of its own macabre drum. While its sense of humor will likely be too dark, gross, or stupid for many casual audiences, the subculture of freaks, geeks, and sickos I count myself among that can get onto its bizarre wavelength will find it to be a fun time. Ridiculous, morbid, zany, and purposefully pointless, “The Monkey” is a B-Movie horror comedy that knows exactly what it is, using the often pretentious visual styles of arthouse horror to tell a decidedly unpretentious story, approaching its themes surrounding our relationship with death without even an ounce of gravitas. While not necessarily a movie that demands you to rush to the theater to see, once it hits streaming, those looking for a little monkey business to enjoy with their friends at a hangout or movie night can certainly look to this lean, mean, death machine for a fun hour and a half thrill.
