Osgood Perkins darkly comical adaption of Stephen King’s short story wavers between bloody fun and overkill.
If one of the scariest short stories by a beloved contemporary horror writer is adapted by a particularly interesting director of genre films, the result should contain more existential dread than Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey. The macabre tale of a vintage plaything that can summon sudden death is less of a horror film than a comedy, albeit one with truly nasty gags. Most of these feature the gruesome death of a character by highly unlikely means. Electrocution in. Hotel swimming pool, suffocation by a swarm of bees or decapitation in during food preparation just happen to happen around the unlucky protagonist since he encountered the titular toy.
The monkey introduces itself in a prologue set in the late nineties, though the retro tint of Nico Aguilar’s cinematography has it look like a decade earlier. Petey Shelburn (a very enjoyable Adam Scott) tries rather unsuccessfully to return a drum playing wind-up monkey to an antiques shop. The outcome is gut wrenching in a very literal sense and establishes the key elements of the sardonic story: a demonic toy, grotesque kills, intergenerational trauma and thanatophobia. The latter refers to a pathological fear of death or dying which is what happens to Hal Shelburn (Theo James) after he witnesses several morbidly memorable casualties as a child.
Back then, he and his twin brother Bill (both Christian Convery) encountered the monkey in the closet of their father who disappeared. Soon enough the boys discover its lethal power which Hal tries to utilize in a fit of rage against his bullying brother. However, the monkey decides whom it kills and decades later Hall, now himself permanently absent father of Petey Jr. (Colin O’Brien) is still haunted by the consequences of his act. It all gets worse as unmistakable signs point to the monkey’s return and Hal has to reunite with his estranged brother (also James) to get rid of it for good.
In contrast to the uncannily original premise the plot of childhood acquaintances teaming up to destroy a supernatural evil sounds rather familiar. However, Osgood’s take on it is anything but. Guided by a string of hilarious fatalities, his twisted blend of gore, family drama and comedy touches on guilt, unresolved grief and crippling fear. Hal is so scared of experiencing (more) death he bereaves himself by avoiding nearly all contact with his loved ones. His mean twin is a sinister alter ego; embodiment of Hal’s violent impulses and reminder of his repressed self-condemnation. The dismal, cramped scenery mirrors the characters troubled psyche, full of dark corners and gruesome secrets.
With its bizarre ugliness, the monkey embodies childlike magical thinking as well as the arbitrariness and inescapability of death. If the paranoid protagonist can let go of his fear and accept that everyone will die, frightful uncertainty transforms into soothing certainty. For a film overflowing with sadistic demises and cynical dialogue, this is a surprisingly comforting message. It almost gets buried under absurdist violence which quickly becomes tiering. The uncanny potential of the malevolent trinket is frustratingly neglect. The same goes for the characters none of which has enough depth to care. Muck like its antagonistic toy, The Monkey is more diverting curiosity than cinematic keeper.
- OT: The Monkey
- Director: Osgood Perkins
- Screenplay: Osgood Perkins
- Year: 2025
- Distribution | Production © Plaion Pictures
