There is absolutely no need to take the Monkey seriously.  It rarely takes itself seriously, which is why.  The stephen king short story served as the inspiration for the horror comedy, which was written and directed by Osgood Perkins and substantially deviates from the original.
 
The Monkey enjoys the way characters die throughout, despite its extreme violence.  The title character is a present from the father of twins Hal and Bill Shelburn (Christian Convery) (Adam Scott, who regrettably only appears in the opening scene). Their mother (Tatiana Maslany) concealed it until they discovered it among his possessions.  A random person is killed by turning the key, and Hal and Bill toss the old toy down a well after the monkey murders their mother and several others.
 
Naturally, everything comes back to haunt Hal (Theo james in a dual role), who is now 25 years apart from his brother and must face his history while attempting to protect his son Petey (Colin O'Brien).  The horror movie doesn't falter because of the execution, even if the concept is straightforward.  However, not everything goes its way, and if anything, it could have used more of its emotional beats to counterbalance its humor.  However, the film's strength is its absurdity, and it has enough of it.
 
Watching The Monkey made me laugh more than I had anticipated.  Perkins doesn't hold back when it comes to the zany deaths or the sporadic people and banter, such as a bunch of cheerleaders showing up to Hal and Bill's former home to support the coroners' evacuation of a dead corpse.  In addition to being viewed as a reality of life, as it is, death is also handled with a humorous callousness that highlights its degree of unrestrained absurdity.
 
Its core message is that everyone dies at some time and that death is uncontrollable.  This message is simultaneously contrasted with the movie's ridicule of death.  It's all meant to make you laugh, and even the ironic ending of the horror murder made me giggle.  The Monkey isn't terrifying, so don't expect it to be.  There is hardly no horror in it.  In addition to the graphic fatalities, the horror movie is the total reverse of Perkins' eerie Longlegs.
 
Even if the comedy is entertaining, it is also detrimental.  There are times when the constant humor overshadows the character journey.  It struggles to strike a balance between the humor and the seriousness of Hal and Bill's travels.  Although their relationship is highly tense, which is a significant departure from King's short tale, it may have really succeeded if Perkins had given it more attention.  At best, their connection is simple; at worst, it is shallow.  Although Bill's brutality against Hal is never completely understood, the novel might have done a better job of addressing their interaction at the conclusion.
 
The Monkey is often so self-important, despite its absurdity, that I questioned why it didn't relax and really embrace its ridiculous aspects.  Although there are plenty of such, the movie seems to be holding back.  However, its character deaths—which are horrifying in every way—are where it doesn't hold back.  People are electrocuted, crushed to death, blasted up, and have their heads chopped off.  And throughout the movie, those are a few of the milder terror killings.
 
Overall, The Monkey Would Have Been A Lot Better If It Had A More Balanced Story
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The Monkey Review

G GOWTHAM

28/02/2025 10:44 AM