The Monkey is the latest horror film from distributor Neon and filmmaker Osgood Perkins. Viewers might recognize the filmmaker’s name from his work on last year’s Longlegs. The film stars Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott, and Elijah Wood. Adapted from a short story by Stephen King, the film follows twin brothers (James) whose lives are turned upside down by a cursed toy monkey that causes random horrific deaths.

Longlegs was one of my favorite movies of 2024. It delivered on nearly everything I wanted. It also had an amazing marketing campaign that worked. Similar to that film, The Monkey also had an amazing marketing campaign that promised something gnarly. The film delivers on the marketing’s promise, even if I still felt let down in certain respects.

The one great thing the film has going for it is that it does not take itself too seriously. It felt like after Longlegs, Osgood Perkins needed something funnier in the same genre. I found myself laughing more that I thought, and probably more than I should have. It’s bizarre and leans into the dark humor perfectly. I suppose viewers could look it as though death is part of life. You might as well laugh about it.

I feel like the casting department perfected getting leading man Theo James in the dual role. The guy has been coming out on top as of lately. He really leans into unknown territory with this one in a dual role that he manages to do quite well. I wasn’t expecting him to really only be in about half of the film. He narrates the beginning to explain the events that came before that are quite entertaining. Whether he’s playing the insecure or overly confident twin, he really helps the viewers understand the difference between the two.

As seen before in his last film, Osgood Perkins is establishing a signature directing style. From the cinematography to the wacky performances, he is making quite the name for himself. With a new film on the way later this year, I am impressed by how fast he can pump these movies out. As entertaining and fun as the film is, I still felt like the film was rushed, which could just be a byproduct of how fast he is making these films. I don’t think he is looking to perfect the films at all. He wants the audience to at least be entertained, but I still found myself wanting more had the story gone in a different direction and had more time to flesh out.

Actor Adam Scott has a small role in the film, and an important role at that. I did like how the film tackles handing down generational trauma. Personally, I think the film could have been better had they focused the story more on Theo James’ characters and their dad, played by Scott. Instead, the film focuses quite a bit on one of the twins, Hal (James) and his son, Petey (O’Brien). The themes are there about accepting trauma and living with it, but I felt like the tone was off between the two. Sure, they are estranged, but Petey’s look at everything was off-putting to say the least.

One of the major issues I have with the film is how they are far too many good ideas that are never fully fleshed out. Scott’s character as the dad disappears. It’s not like he died since whoever turns the key on the monkey lives. What happened to him? Why did he buy this monkey? How did the monkey come to be? Those are great questions that are never answered. We also get Elijah Wood in a misplaced, small role that deserved more screentime; whereas, we get a lot more of this Ricky character that I couldn’t care less about. Also, if Hal knew the consequences of this monkey, why still have a kid?

The film delivers in the first half with a memorable performance from Tatiana Maslany and intriguing buildup, but the second half faults in awkward pacing within its story. It quickly glances over certain kills, and some of them can even be redundant, lacking surprises. Even the motive behind why the monkey comes back makes no sense. There’s a clever twist with the monkey towards the end that impact the community. Once again, it’s never fully realized in the end. The second half also skips 25 years to today, but the production design still looks like 25 years prior. The only thing closely relating to today is an iPhone. That’s it.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Monkey for what it had to offer. It’s funny and entertaining in all the right ways with memorable performances from Theo James & Tatiana Maslany. There are also too many great ideas and characters that are never fully fleshed out. Filmmaker Osgood Perkins knows how to find the right tone, but I hope him being able to pump movies out so fast doesn’t hurt the quality of his films in the long run.

VERDICT: 3.5/5 (Pretty Good)