'The Monkey' review: Osgood Perkins lets loose in cartoonishly gory romp

Courtesy of Neon

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“Uh, more blood, please.”

I can almost hear Writer-Director Osgood Perkins saying this on repeat during the filming of his latest venture, “The Monkey.” Adapted from a short story by Stephen King, the elevator pitch is an easy one: there’s a wind-up, almost demonic-looking chimp that, when activated, finds clever (and sometimes laughably silly) ways to kill whoever it chooses—except for the one who initiates the gruesome carnage.

It’s a nice change of pace for Perkins, whose 2024 banger “Longlegs” was a colossal success but leaned more into the vibe of “The Silence of the Lambs.” In contrast, “The Monkey” has more in common with a “Final Destination” film than your typical Stephen King adaptation. And that’s a compliment—some elements of “Longlegs” left viewers feeling a little cold, but in “The Monkey,” it’s clear that Perkins doesn’t want to take things too seriously. Instead, he drenches his victims in blood by the truckload. While it can sometimes be overly silly and occasionally on the nose, at its best, “The Monkey” channels the spirit of “Evil Dead,” with a dash of Peter Jackson’s 1992 splatterfest “Braindead.”

Right from the opening sequence, we’re clued into the rollercoaster of death and destruction that awaits us. Perkins brings the attitude with razor-sharp comedic wit, a rare trait in films that tackle serious themes of grief, trauma, and death—let alone a Stephen King adaptation. No one is safe from the wrath of this toy simian, and Perkins wastes no time letting you know, with an opening sequence that shows an innocent bystander’s insides coming... well, out.

The story kicks off with an extended prologue set in 1999, where we meet twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn (both played by Christian Convery). They live with their nurturing mother (Tatiana Maslany, “She-Hulk”), who is struggling to regain stability after their father left. Bill takes delight in tormenting Hal, often blaming him for their father splitting on them. Bill is the kind of cruel, mean-spirited bully who will make you root for the monkey, which the boys find abandoned in a closet full of their father’s trinkets.

As we quickly learn, there are no rules when it comes to this toy’s actions, and life soon becomes miserable for the boys as the toy primate starts doing what it does best—slaughtering people, often those close to them. From there, the tone is set, and we jump ahead 25 years, where Hal (now played by Theo James, “Divergent,” “The White Lotus”) is struggling to connect with his estranged son, Petey (Colin O’Brien), whom he only sees once a year on his birthday.

Meanwhile, Bill (also played by James) has been on a lifelong quest to find the monkey, which has recently turned up in the small town of Casco, Maine. The toy is quickly becoming a problem, with reports of one, two, sometimes five deaths a day. All of the deaths are typically written off as freak accidents, and Perkins has no problem showing a hilarious montage of these incidents, some of which include a python attack on a golf course, a lawnmower, and death by pool electrocution. One death is described as “a cherry pie in a sleeping bag,” and, well, the visuals confirm that. This movie is not for the squeamish.

Perkins and the entire ensemble—including fun supporting performances from Sarah Levy and Elijah Wood—know exactly what kind of campy, gloriously over-the-top B-movie they’ve signed up for. Especially James, who plays two distinct and oddly wacky characters who both can’t quite grasp how this string of bizarre events came to be. Anyone hoping for answers about the monkey’s origins, its methods of killing, or a deeply political message laced with social satire will be disappointed. Perkins, who tragically lost both of his parents, isn’t interested in any of that. He’s just here to have fun, and honestly, that’s all you can ask for.

Grade: B 

THE MONKEY is now playing in theaters.