THE MONKEY (2025)

Director, writer and actor Osgood Perkins – Longlegs (2024), The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) – adapts the Stephen King short story The Monkey (1980) into a horror comedy? This should work right? Well the concept worked well enough to entice me to watch it. Unfortunately, killing off numerous undeveloped characters indiscriminately, Final Destination (2000-) -style, with a benevolently amusing tone, just didn’t do it for me. I like comedy to be funny. And I like horror to be horrifying. I can, of course, and do love to stomach both at once, but simply demurring at the offhandedly gross isn’t a good time to me. Save the opening scene, with Adam Scott – Severance (2022-), Party Down (2009-2023) – teasing us with the hint of a good time to come as an absentee father character, and Elijah Wood – Sin City (2005) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) – who also appears just as briefly as an acclaimed, and very body-conscious would-be stepfather character. Instead we spend most of the time with Theo James – The Gentlemen (2024), Divergent (2014) – playing opposing twin brothers who are equally reprehensible, and not at all in a funny way. Basically it’s hard to care about anyone in this film, many of whom are kids, which is not good! If you too are always on the lookout for a proper horror comedy film, I recommend watching (or rewatching) Severance (2006) the film not the show, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) or Get Duked! (2019). 

WATCH OR NOT: NOT

Additional musings: The Stephen King short was published in 1980, so why lean into 80’s flair, yet set it 1999?