Renowned writer Stephen King is no stranger to having his stories adapted into movies, with over 50 feature films based on his writing. “The Monkey” is his most recent piece, which has been turned into a feature film, but it is far from the best.
Released to theaters on Feb. 21 and written and directed by Osgood (Oz) Perkins, it was created from King’s short story also titled “The Monkey.” To start the film, we see a man bring a toy wind-up monkey to an antique shop. We learn immediately that the monkey is evil — every time it gets wound up and its music begins to play, it decides on someone to kill. When the monkey’s drumstick strikes the drum, someone will die within seconds. Here’s the catch: if you are the one turning the wind-up key, you will not die.
Years later, the man’s twin sons find the monkey and quickly learn of its dangers. The young brothers Billy and Hal (both played by Christian Convery) plot to get rid of the evil toy once and for all after tragedy strikes their family. After disposing of the monkey, they grow up and grow apart, eventually becoming estranged. Again, the movie jumps a couple of decades ahead to when adult Hal (Theo James) is trying to reconnect with his son Petey (Colin O’Brien) when he gets news that the monkey is back killing people.
“The Monkey” was created as a comedy horror film, but I didn’t think the two genres meshed well together. Punchlines were often in weird places and constantly missed the mark. Honestly, I thought some of the placements of jokes were insensitive, even though the film was fiction. Jokes were sprinkled in to try and lighten the mood but instead were met with the awkward silence of the cinema. I found that the unseriousness took away from the actual horror aspect of the movie, and I didn’t find myself very frightened.
That being said, although I wasn’t scared during the movie, I was a little squeamish. I found myself looking away quite a bit, due to the very excessive and dramatic amount of gore. Even though the carnage was extremely unrealistic, it was still gross and I didn’t want to watch it. I would advise people who are afraid of blood to stay away from this film. For reference, “The Monkey” had as much gore as most slasher films.
I am usually a Stephen King fan and appreciate the movies that have been adapted from his writing. However, I thought “The Monkey” was strange and boring. I’ve never read the short story, but because it was not a full-length novel, I think the film stretched the storyline out too much to the point where it got repetitive and predictable. There weren’t any major plot twists, and the action kept rising until it was suddenly resolved in an obvious and dull way. I found no satisfaction in the ending and was a little disappointed.
As for the production, the sets were decent and so were the costumes, especially considering the low budget for the film. I specifically liked Billy’s lair which was filled with traps. Although that set wasn’t very realistic, it fit in with the tone of the movie. I thought the film was decent quality, but you can tell it is not a highly funded project. In my opinion, if you are a good storyteller and have an engaging script, it doesn’t really matter if you have a very high budget. Unfortunately, “The Monkey” didn’t quite do that, which made the storyline feel cheap as well.
Overall, “The Monkey” showcased some action, comedy and a lot of gore, and it failed to excite me. I felt there wasn’t anything to predict because the ending was super straightforward. If you are a fan of comedy horror looking to watch a new film, it’s worth it to check it out. Keep in mind that it is rated R for violence, gore, language and sexual references.
“The Monkey:” ★★☆☆☆
