The Monkey

Stephen King adaptations are usually hit or miss for me, so I’m happy to report that this one is on the former side of things rather than the latter.

Based on the 1980 Stephen King short of the same name, The Monkey, written and directed by the prolific Osgood Perkins, follows identical twins Hal and Bill Shelburn (Theo James in dual roles) after their fates are inexorably linked to a mysterious toy monkey that brings death and destruction whenever it’s wound up. Believed to be the reason behind their mother’s sudden and particularly gruesome death, Hal and Bill manage to stop the threat of the toy monkey at great cost to them and those around them, only for it to return with a vengeance some 25 years later. Still terrified of getting close to anyone, especially his teenage son Petey (Colin O’Brien), Hal soon finds himself dragged back into the violence created by the wind-up toy, forcing him to come to terms with his traumatic past while setting in motion a quirky yet macabre tale of death and dismemberment that would make even the legendary Stephen King blush.

Living and dying by writer/director Osgood Perkin’s distinct filmmaking style, Perkins, in my opinion, is likely the only reason this movie works as well as it does, with his choice to expand on and alter the original Stephen King short story working to his benefit more often than not. Acting more like a horror/comedy rather than a straight-up horror flick, The Monkey’s surprisingly gory effects, twistedly fun tone, competent direction, writing, and acting, and complete dedication to its disturbing premise ensure that this film never feels like it was an obligation to make for the filmmakers but rather, a labor of love — albeit a blood-soaked, intestine-spilling, head-decapitating labor of love.

And though I did appreciate the way The Monkey dealt with its creepy hook and how most of its Final Destination-esque kills played out, I can’t say that everything about its narrative worked for me, especially when it came to how the whole twin brother angle gets resolved. I won’t get into specifics, but not only does the narrative take a turn for the worse in its third act, but by the time everything wrapped, I felt less enthused about the film overall, with this issue luckily not being enough to ruin my enjoyment of The Monkey as a whole. Still, for as good as The Monkey‘s writing and direction is at times, this one does fall into the trap of feeling a bit drawn out like many short films to feature film adaptations can be, further contributing to a final act that needed a little more attention and polish.

The Monkey may not be one of the best Stephen King adaptations around, but it’s certainly far from the worst, making Osgood Perkins’ latest film a fun and bloody romp that excels when murdering and maiming its cast while simultaneously telling a tragic story of losing the only family you have. It’ll be a while before Hollywood runs out of Stephen King stories to adapt, with The Monkey proving that his work is still worth the price of admission, especially when paired with the right set of filmmakers tasked with bringing it to the silver screen.