The Monkey
Graphic by Evelyn Crothal
Few films blend horror and comedy successfully. Some, like the 2000 cult classic “Scary Movie,” are content being spoof comedies without any actual scary approach. Others drown out any spookiness with exaggerated horror cliches, like the 2011 picture “Cabin in the Woods.” After all, it's a difficult task to properly merge two opposite emotions—joy and fear—into one viewing. Stephen King’s “The Monkey” was able to invoke both rather efficiently while remaining entertaining throughout.
Stephen King, lauded by many as the king of horror, certainly writes some of the most outrageous horror villains into his stories, which doesn’t always translate well on the big screen. Characters like Cujo, the evil dog, or Christine, the evil car, just feel a bit too silly to keep viewers in seats for nearly two hours. Even a smash hit like “It” fails to stick the landing with the story’s ending introducing a giant spider. With this in mind, I walked into “The Monkey” expecting to laugh along and quickly grow tired of the cheesiness of an evil drumming monkey figurine. I was pleasantly surprised to be accurate on only half of my prediction.
The opening scene starts in a dimly lit pawn shop where Capitan Petey Shelburn, portrayed by Adam Scott, arrives equipped with the notorious monkey figurine. After Shelburn gives an awkwardly comical warning to the shop owner about what happens when the monkey bangs its drum, the monkey does just that—causing the first grotesque atrocity on screen. This opening sequence set the tone perfectly: brutal, unsettling gore meets hilariously strange character interactions.
The remainder of the film follows Shelburn’s two twin sons, Hal and Bill, as they attempt to stop “accidents” caused by the monkey they’ve inherited after their father’s disappearance. Actor Christian Convery portrayed the twins in their young age, with Theo James taking over the role midway through the film as they grew older. Convery was very impressive for only being 15 years old, and held his own with the bizarre script he was given. James also showed some new versatility in his first movie role since 2022’s Mr. Malcolm’s List.The writing really succeeds in both the horror and comedy aspects, with maybe even a bit more attention on the latter. Characters remained extremely unserious in almost all dialogue scenes, despite oftentimes watching their loved ones perish in various traumatic ways. This contrast only made characters’ ridiculous comments even funnier and their later agonizing deaths even creepier.
This is director and former child actor Osgood Perkins’ sixth horror film, and second that I’ve watched. Having seen his 2024 film, “Longlegs,” I can easily say I enjoyed this watch more. While “Longlegs” started with a strong creepy hook, its late attempt to introduce some humor caused the back half to spiral into a mess of nonsense. “The Monkey” knew its place all along, introducing its different elements immediately and simultaneously, which was really beneficial in making the rest of the plot exciting. Overall, “The Monkey” was a strong showing for Perkins, demonstrating the director’s newfound maturity in his craft. Though some may complain that the film was too over-the-top for their pretentious viewing habits, it was undeniably entertaining—and isn’t that what we want when we go out to the movies?