The Monkey is not extremely metaphorical, nor is it much more complicated than the trailers and promotional material would have you believe. It’s an honest adaptation of a Stephen King short story, accompanied by the voiceover of a disgruntled man with an uncanny proximity to evil. It involves a toy monkey that causes random, horrifically violent deaths. It doesn’t warrant deep theoretical dissection, and it doesn’t pretend like it wants to be. Parodied in recent Scream installments and many sectors of the internet, horror in the 2020s has come to be defined by the so-called “elevated horror” – films with social commentary and political criticisms embedded in the conventions of the genre and used to expand the power of horror and its filmmaking capabilities. There’s a lot of value in these films and in this brilliant evolution of the genre, but with the popularity of excellent examples like Get Out and The Substance have emerged a plethora of cheap copies, of flimsy commentaries and now-exhausted tropes. Horror is multifaceted, and one of the most distinct and effective attributes is its ability to be unforgettably violent. If most enjoyable and successful recent horror films are elevated, The Monkey is grotesquely, brilliantly, and exuberantly sub-basement. 

Stephen King adaptations are notoriously hit-or-miss, and so are his works, to many readers. Attempts to adapt long novels like It and The Stand often range from mediocre to sacrilegious, but when the right source material is plucked from his rich, expansive horror library, they can become instant classics. Rob Reiner’s Misery brought Annie Wilkes to life, with an Oscar-winning performance by Kathy Bates, and Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption became a cult classic and unforgettable tale of redemption. 

Not all King’s works can or should become films, but The Monkey fits the formula nicely, as does Perkins’ creative adaptation. Perkins adds richer detail to the source material while remaining faithful to the author’s very distinct voice. The film features Theo James as identical twins Hal and Bill, who discover a toy monkey in their deadbeat dad’s closet. When a Benihana dinner with their babysitter goes horribly awry, Hal begins to realize the monkey may have a curious power to cause disgusting, creative, Rube Goldberg-like deaths to those around him. 

Perkins has an evident love and passion for the genre of horror, and an impressive, albeit imperfect, directorial ability. His direction in The Monkey is a skillful balance between the comedy and tension that exist in the notion of random, horrific deaths being caused by a toy monkey. The tonal balance is difficult and feels clunky at times, particularly near the ending, but the film as a whole is an extremely fun horror experience based on this balance. Comparisons to Final Destination are inevitable in the inescapability of death and the detailed gore of the character deaths, but this film feels most similar to other King adaptations – It, Stand By Me, perhaps even Misery – the ones that maintain the sardonic, old school voice of Stephen King and push fully into the absurdity of the premise.

Despite being quite the opposite of an elevated horror film, The Monkey still has an interesting heart, and a far more wicked sense of humor. The film makes many effective changes to the source material while maintaining King’s strong voice, and indulging heavily in the bloody zaniness the premise has to offer. It’s not necessarily a high-brow horror, but perhaps we need more late winter horror releases that are fresh and fun, rather than tired copies with nothing to say. The Monkey is a blast, and it will forever change the way you look at a milk steamer. And a swimming pool. And a family trip to Benihana.

The Monkey
2025
dir. Osgood Perkins
97 min.

Opens Friday, 2/21 @ Coolidge Corner Theatre, Somerville Theatre, and theaters everywhere