The Monkey
Batshit adaptation of a classic that dials up the gore and (surprisingly) the laughs
High Expectations & One Takeaway
If you read my Longlegs review, you’ll know I loved it more than most. So when I saw that Osgood Perkins was directing another horror movie—this time based on a Stephen King story—I knew I’d be first in line. Even the marketing had me hooked. The trailer was incredible and got me fired up. (Brief interjection: thank god for red-band trailers. A red-band trailer is essentially an R-rated movie trailer, while the normal “green” trailers are rated suitable for all viewers.)
The normal trailer had under a million views, while the red-band version racked up nearly 20 million—proof that I wasn’t the only one eager to see how this King adaptation would play out. And also proof that horror trailers should always be rated R.
With Perkins behind the camera and King’s story as the foundation, I expected something eerie, unsettling, and bizarre in the best way—something similar to Longlegs. What I didn’t expect was just how much The Monkey would lean into comedy, turning its classic horror origin into something both scary and hilarious.
And honestly, that’s what makes it work so well: The Monkey doesn’t try to force some deep, unnecessary meaning onto its premise. You might not leave the theater changed, but you’ll leave entertained—and in an era where horror movies either try too hard to be groundbreaking or rely on nostalgia, that’s a very good thing. Big picture, this is a movie made for horror fans like me, but also one that will thoroughly entertain your squeamish partner or your action-loving bro at the same time.
The Monkey Itself
The surface-level plot is that twin brothers find an old-school wind-up monkey left by their father, who vanished under mysterious circumstances. When someone turns the key in the monkey’s back and makes it play the drums, people around them die in crazy ways.
From the moment the titular monkey appears onscreen, you know something is wrong—its dead eyes, stiff movements, and that slow, deliberate beating of its drum. The film doesn’t over-explain its origins, letting the sheer creep factor do most of the work.
I loved that the monkey never felt like a shtick. It isn’t just a basic haunted toy; it has its own creepy presence, dictating the tone of every scene it’s in. You’re immediately on edge whenever that thing starts moving, waiting for the inevitable. And in classic Stephen King fashion, the horror isn’t just the monkey itself—it’s the way the characters react to it, and how its influence seeps into their lives.
Performances That Go All In
One of the biggest reasons The Monkey is so effective is the cast. Everyone, no matter how small the role, fully commits to the movie’s absurdity.
Theo James delivers a stellar performance playing twin brothers—a challenge in any film, but especially in one that requires him to create two fully distinct characters. He absolutely nails it, making each twin feel like a real person rather than just a gimmick.
Even the side characters go all in. The real estate agent is a wrecking ball of comedic quips. The aunt and uncle walk a perfect line between concerned family members and total weirdos.
A Brilliant Take on Horror Comedy
Turning The Monkey into a horror comedy was a genius move. The original King story is straight horror—gory, mean, and brutal. And we’ve seen that type of movie repeatedly in the last 20 years.
Instead, we got a smartly executed horror comedy—and what’s most interesting is how it’s actually done. This isn’t a funny script in the traditional sense. Instead, the visual elements bring the humor to life.
Horror comedy is notoriously hard to pull off, but The Monkey manages to balance both genres masterfully. Just when you’re laughing at something absurd, the film reminds you why you should still be on edge.
Most horror comedies either go too goofy or lean so hard into horror that the humor feels out of place. A few of my favorites: The Cabin in the Woods (2011), with its self-aware use of horror tropes while still executing them to perfection; Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010), which brilliantly parodies horror clichés; and Scream (1996), which pays homage to 1980s slashers while still standing tall on its own.
The Monkey finds a sweet spot to round out this foursome—it’s dark and tense while also making you laugh out loud. A rare achievement.
Death Has Never Been This Funny
If there’s one thing The Monkey doesn’t shy away from, it’s violence. Not just your typical horror movie blood splatter; this is creative, over-the-top, sometimes downright ridiculous violence in the best way possible.
Blood sprays in gloriously impossible arcs, limbs bend in ways they absolutely shouldn’t, and somehow, you’re laughing even as you cover your eyes.
It’s rare for a horror movie to make violence genuinely entertaining rather than just shocking or grotesque. But The Monkey walks that fine line, turning death into a spectacle that feels more like a punchline than a tragedy.
The film embraces the chaos of fate and finds humor in the senselessness. It’s not that the deaths don’t matter; they do, but the movie seems to ask: if life is this unpredictable and unfair, why not at least have a little fun with it?
Big Finale & Impact (SPOILERS AHEAD)
The final act absolutely erupts, delivering the kind of big, wild finale that movie fans dream about.
After the monkey starts drumming at a breakneck speed, with every single beat previously meaning a death, you realize the stakes aren’t just high, they’re about to explode. And The Monkey does not disappoint.
Instead of teasing the outcome, the film shows it to you in full, glorious madness: a skydiver plummets through the ceiling, planes crash into the forest, a mom pushes a stroller engulfed in flames, and the carnage just keeps coming.
Just as you think the cycle of death is finally over, a bus full of celebrating cheerleaders rolls into view. The protagonists drive past them, relieved, and you think the carnage is over. Then a truck whizzes by and decapitates the entire bus in one swoop. Roll credits.
It sounds completely crazy written out, and it is, but in the theater, it killed. (Pun intended.) My audience was howling, groaning, and clapping all at once.
If you’re looking for subtlety or emotional catharsis, The Monkey ignores those expectations—and that’s the point. The finale embraces its chaos so gleefully that you can’t help but get swept up in it.
The sheer audacity of it all had me grinning like an idiot and thinking: I can’t wait to write about this.
Final Verdict
The Monkey proves Osgood Perkins can execute a horror movie in more ways than one. He says it best himself when asked about why he pivoted away from a “traditional” horror movie:
I took liberties like a motherfucker. They had a very serious script… I felt it was too serious, and I told them. This doesn’t work for me. The thing with this toy monkey is that the people around it all die in insane ways… I’m older now and you realize this shit happens to everyone. Everyone dies. Sometimes in their sleep, sometimes in truly insane ways. But everyone dies. And I thought maybe the best way to approach that insane notion is with a smile.
The mix of horror and comedy won’t work for everyone, but if you’re on its wavelength, you’re in for a hell of a ride. It may not be the scariest King adaptation, but it’s easily one of the most fun.
The Monkey might just be the rare horror comedy that gets better the more chaotic it becomes. It knows exactly what it is and never apologizes for it. Highly recommended—and bring a few friends to enjoy it with.