The Monkey review
What is “The Monkey”? This film by Osgood Perkins is designed as a comedy-horror based on the writing of Stephen King.
The premise is quite simple: a toy monkey – seemingly sentient, cursed and omnipotent – waits for someone to turn the key to activate it. Upon activation, a person nearby dies. How well this premise was pulled off is up to interpretation.
The film illustrates a town where societal flaws seem to have seeped profoundly into the psyche of all regular people. The film flaunts everything from poor familial dynamics, bullying, and interpersonal enmity to larger issues like poking fun at funerals and treating death as a joke. The mass fatalities on screen seem to have no larger effect on the behaviorism of the characters.
Aside from major critiques, slasher fans rejoice! Despite monkeying around, the demises are certainly gruesome. Further, I can applaud the ambiance and lighting in every scene. One of the primary things that makes the Monkey so unnerving is that it always seems to be in a bone-white spotlight, and the anxiety that floods you every time you see the dread primate is palpable.
Overall, The Monkey was a film that advertised jumpscare horror and delivered a level of nonsensical slaughter suited to its ‘comedy horror’ label. The predictability combined with the shock factor stupefies the tension and grants a macabre reminder that curiosity killed the ape.