I had an absolute blast watching The Monkey! This movie is pure, unfiltered horror fun! It’s brutal, over-the-top, and dripping with absurdity in the best way possible.
There’s an energy to it that makes the insane madness feel playful, even in its darkest moments. The movie doesn’t hold back on the violence and this this thing is a blood-soaked nightmare. But, I found myself laughing just as often as I was cringing at the sheer insanity of it all.
It’s the kind of horror movie that leans into its own chaos and comes out all the better for it. What really worked for me was how well the story was told. The character development was strong, making you actually care about what’s happening beyond just the carnage.
The film is an adaptation of Stephen King’s story, which follow two brothers who discover their father’s old monkey toy, and as soon as it starts clanging its cymbals, people start dying in increasingly gruesome ways.
“Years later, they think they’ve escaped its curse until the killings start again. It’s classic King in all the right ways, and the film embraces the ridiculousness of its setup while still delivering some wildly demented moments.
I haven’t been the biggest fan of Osgood Perkins’ previous films, but The Monkey is easily my favorite of his so far. You can tell he just went for it, and the result is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously while still feeling like a proper Stephen King adaptation.
Perkins himself said he wanted to make it more comedic and cozy, which was the right call for a movie about a possessed monkey toy. Instead of trying to make it “elevated” horror, he just let it be wild, weird, and unapologetically bonkers.
Even King himself called it “batshit insane,” and that’s exactly what it delivers. It knows what kind of movie it is, and it doesn’t try to be anything else.
If you’re looking for a horror movie that’s brutal, funny, and just straight-up fun, The Monkey is absolutely worth your time. It’s got the energy of a midnight grindhouse movie with the polish of a proper studio horror film, Perkins nailed it.
