“The Monkey” Review – A Cymbal-Clapping Nightmare That Won’t Let You Go

“The Monkey” isn’t just another creepy toy horror flick—it’s a wickedly fun descent into chaos, where every sinister clank of cymbals feels like a punchline with teeth. Osgood Perkins delivers a film that’s as playful as it is gruesome, balancing pitch-black humor with moments of pure, unrelenting dread. Whether you’re a Stephen King purist or just here for the carnage, this cursed little primate ensures you won’t walk away unscathed. Just don’t let it into your house—once it starts clapping, it never stops.

– “The Monkey” directed by Oz Perkins is a horror/comedy film that explores the harsh brutality of life and inevitable death, depicted through a toy monkey that brings death to whoever turns the key in its back.
– The film contains a blend of black comedy and gruesome death scenes, suggesting that death is not just inevitable, but inescapably around the corner, possibly leading to the understanding that the best way to face death is with humor.
– It can also be viewed as Perkins’ personal story due to his experience of losing his mother in the 9/11 attacks, adding poignancy and deep-rooted emotion to the narrative, while cleverly mitigating against the “explainer” culture prevalent in many modern horror movies.

“The reality of mortality is life,” this recurring line in Oz Perkins’ warped creation, “The Monkey,” encapsulates its core theme of life’s unavoidable harshness, a subject intimately familiar to the director. The man behind “The Blackcoat’s Daughter,” “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House,” and “Longlegs,” may be adapting a short story by Stephen King, but he’s clearly exhibiting elements of his own biography in this dark horror-comedy about life’s inherent callousness. The main reference for viewers may be “Final Destination,” but even those films carry more optimism, featuring characters who seek and occasionally find ways to outsmart death. Not so in “The Monkey.” It’s coming, and it’s not going to be clean.

Perkins manipulates atmosphere in a way that distinguishes “The Monkey” from his previous serious, contemplative work. The godfather film credits font and the image of a battered Adam Scott bearing a toy monkey set the mood. Omitting an origin story and beginning with a broken man terrified of a toy is an exquisite attention-grabber, defining the film’s dark humor and reinforcing Perkins’ skill as a director. The toy monkey ominously beats a drum, ensuing cruel deaths. The audience doesn’t need further details.

The narrative then shifts, introducing twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburne (Christian Convery as children; Theo James as adults). They come across their father’s toy monkey, and rotating the key on its back results in their babysitter’s horrific death. They learn that each time they twist the key, someone dies, including their skeptical mother (Tatiana Maslany). They attempt to destroy the monkey, even dumping it down a well, but it reappears years later, disrupting the brothers’ bond and wreaking more havoc.

Perkins revels in dreaming up creative death scenes. One death involves an electric pool; another results in a woman’s head igniting in exaggerated, cartoonish carnage. The film maintains a different kind of tension, suggesting that death isn’t just impending but lurking just outside your doorstep. Death intends to be more original this time around. The humor continually escalates towards absurdity with events such as fires, beheadings and well-positioned shotgun blasts hinting at a somewhat humorous take on death.

This may result from Perkins’ realization that laughter is the best antidote to grief. Perkins’ own mother, Berry Berenson, was killed in the 9/11 attacks as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, offering a poignant context to the plot. This backstory is not essential but enriches the film significantly. Perkins’ blend of personal tragedy and levity results in a striking cinematic experience, thanks to the powerful imagery by Nico Aguilar, expertly put together by editors Graham Fortin & Greg Ng.

The film is lean, devoid of filler, a quality lacking in many modern horror movies and films adapted from short stories. All the personal insight about Perkins adds to the appreciation, but the movie refuses to be pigeonholed by the ‘explainer’ trend of elevated horror. Yes, it portrays the director’s own loss, but it also underscores the random cruelty of the world that can deprive a child of a mother as easily as winding a toy monkey’s key. Even death, it seems, can use a laugh every now and then.

From Annabelle to Child’s Play, horror has taught us one important lesson—never trust a toy. The Monkey takes that warning and runs with it, turning Stephen King’s short story into a gleefully twisted nightmare fueled by cymbal-crashing terror. Director Osgood Perkins crafts a film that is equal parts horror and black comedy, pulling you in with its absurd premise before tightening its grip with every sinister clang. It’s gory, it’s bizarre, and it dares to have fun with its own madness—just don’t get too close, or you might find yourself part of its deadly rhythm.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars.

“The Monkey” is in theaters February 21, 2025.

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