1 of 5 | Hal (Theo James) reacts to the aftermath of a graphic death in "The Monkey," in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Neon
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- The Monkey, in theaters Friday, is the kind of horror movie that celebrates elaborate deaths. Those who share the film's macabre sense of humor will find these deaths absurdly comical, rather than disturbing.
In this adaptation of the Stephen King short story, twin brothers Hal and Bill -- played by Christian Convery as kids and Theo James as adults -- learn their father's (Adam Scott) organ grinder monkey causes someone to die every time they wind it up. The pair try to destroy the toy but it returns, so they drop it in a well in the hope it will prevent misuse.
25 years later, people start dying suspiciously once more. The now estranged brothers reluctantly reconnect to try and find the monkey again.
Characters meet their demise after elaborate chain reactions, similar to the Final Destination movies, but usually much quicker. Bodies often explode and disintegrate as a result, a combination so extreme and impeccably timed that one can only interpret it as a punchline.
The film sets quite a different tone than director Osgood Perkins' previous horror movies, including last year's Longlegs. He proves equally adept at exploring comic horror like Evil Dead 2 and the Chucky series.
The Monkey is also unusually comical for a Stephen King short story. King usually plays his horror straight, and he's the best in the world at it, but whether Perkins' adaptation amplified the comedy or it was always there, it works.
The deaths are not the only humor in The Monkey. Perkins hypes up the malevolence of the silly monkey drummer with musical stingers and by placing a camera on one of the drumsticks.
Other examples include a priest swearing at a funeral, making the tone bizarre even when the film's not violent.
As a child, Hal is tormented by a gang of female classmates as vicious as their typically male counterparts. Bill bullies Hal too, reminding his brother he's three minutes older, and threatening to eat the rest of Hal's placenta, as their mother (Tatiana Maslany) claimed Bill ate a portion of it in the womb.
Hal and Bill take different paths into adulthood too. Hal continues to run from the monkey, isolating himself not only from Bill but his own son, Petey (Colin O'Brien), while Bill has become obsessed with the toy.
The hairstyles Bill and Hal choose as adults highlights their differences in blatantly silly ways. Hal is unkempt with his curls and Bill severe with a Caesar-style cut.
As adults, Hal and Bill don't share a scene until the end of the film. Even then, there is only one shot where James is doubled. Otherwise, James performs scenes filmed over the shoulder of a double, seamlessly creating the illusion of twins through editing.
Despite the elaborate means to homicide, The Monkey still feels a bit contained. The main characters are two recluses and it mostly takes place in interior houses and rooms.
Hints of deaths taking place in the wider world are fun but also remind the viewer they're not leaving Hal's side. One of the featured deaths uses digital effects that look fake enough to break the illusion, but still represent a clever way to kill someone.
Those are minor complaints though. The Monkey is a raucous antidote to sweet romance movies and even to self-serious horror movies.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
