“The Monkey” is Osgood Perkins’ first film of the year, with another scheduled to come out later this year. This one is based on a Stephen King short story. Like most King stories, “The Monkey” has all of his usual trademarks. From the over-the-top bullies, to the nonsensical evil entity, the one thing that makes “The Monkey” stand out from other horror films that come out is that it is actually quite funny.
Generational trauma is just about the most tried and true horror topic. A large number of horror movies are made yearly about this topic, especially because of A24’s recent success in the genre. However, “The Monkey” takes a completely different route to deal with this topic, and treats it as a comedy. This is effective for a few reasons.
The main reason is due to the fact that the film is just really funny. The script is pretty smart, and the cast, especially Theo James and Tatiana Maslany, are very funny. Another reason is it doesn’t make generational trauma a deep topic like other movies – it deals with it as something everyone has. The movie knows that this isn’t serious which is refreshing, and it is shown by the main imagery of this topic as an evil monkey toy that beats a drum to kill people.
Theo James plays twins in the film and the juxtaposition between the two is very funny. From the way they dress to the fact that one of them has a mullet, it is really good imagery. The twins are polar opposites in the way they talk as well. I also found all the cameos that the film has to be done well. The one at the beginning was great, and the Elijah Wood one is one of the best parts of the film. Also, Rohan Campbell, who plays one of the villains, is hilarious, and the costuming he has is so ridiculous that I laughed every time I saw him. A lot of the characters in this feel like caricatures of well-known King archetypes, and I found that added a lot of the comedy for me.
The film is also pretty self-aware, meaning it knows that an evil monkey toy that kills someone in a weird way when it is wound up is pretty silly, and it plays right into that. All of the kills were pretty inventive and, at times, effectively gross. The ones towards the end that haven’t been used in any marketing are what I found to be the most effective.
One other thing that adds to the movie thematically is knowing that Perkins’ parents have both passed away. A lot of his movies revolve around them in some way and how he is coping with it. “The Monkey” does this not in a sad way but by accepting that death is something in everyday life and twists this trauma into a joke.
“The Monkey” is a really fun time. It never takes itself seriously at all and is more a comedy film than a horror one. Theo James is great as both twins and the kills are so over-the-top I couldn’t help but laugh at almost all of them. Also, this movie is such a breath of fresh air in a genre that is filled with the same themes as this. Twisting the generational trauma and making it into a comedy makes it very unique, and it helps that it is actually quite funny.
Rating: 8/10
