With The Monkey, writer/director Osgood Perkins adapts Stephen King’s short story into a hilarious, yet bloody and intense affair.
The Monkey, based on the short story by Stephen King, follows two twin brothers, Hal and Bill (Theo James, The Gentlemen), both in the past and in the present day. After discovering a wind-up toy monkey, the twins’ lives begin to unravel as people start to die under mysterious accidents. Twenty-five years later, the brothers must reunite to face the monkey. . . but also face their past together.
Comedy and Horror Strikes Again in The Monkey
Fresh off the heels of last year’s Longlegs, writer/director Osgood Perkins (Longlegs) adapts Stephen Kings’s short story into a full-length feature. The result? It is a hilarious but dark and bloody rollercoaster from beginning to end. Perkins explores childhood trauma and the fear of passing on undesirable traits. Perkins also explores the theme of mortality and how it affects one throughout time. As a result, Perkins weaves those themes together significantly. Which then leads to him using dark humor to offset the weariness.
This then leads to the cinematography. Perkins and director of photography Nico Aguilar constructed a darkly lit color palette, highlighting tones of greens and yellows. On top of that, the cinematography also highlights the stellar production design from production designer Danny Vermette. Vermette uses small details like a book or a background to develop the world around the film. Thus giving the film a distinct and specific feel to it. This also extends to the costumes. Costume designer Mica Kayde (Longlegs) matched the period with a complete detachment from it. Instead, Kayde’s costumes resemble a Macbe sense of style. So this is then complete with the characters matching Vermette’s production design.
Visual Effects and Score
Moreover, courtesy of visual effects supervisor Edward J. Douglas (Longlegs), the visual effects blend well with the practical effects. It’s only further expanded upon by the score from composer Edo Van Brennan. Van Brennan brings out the film’s horror side with piano and horns. Thus allowing for an eerieness to puncture through the screen. With a running time of only an hour and thirty minutes, editors Graham Fortin and Greg Ng pace the film along succinctly, only pausing for the character moments. All the while, it allows us to get a sense of the period and setting. This allows the film to have solid scares, making the blood and gore effective.
Performances in The Monkey
When it comes to the cast, leading them is none other than Theo James (The Gentlemen). As both Hal and Bill, James pulls double duty, providing a standout performance as both characters. Also, James manages to give distinct personalities to both characters. As such, it enables the audience to revel in them as well as make them unique to each other. Furthermore, Christian Convery (Cocaine Bear) also succeeds in doing the same as a younger Bill and Hal. Both James and Convery succeeded in allowing the transition from younger to older Bill and Hal.
As for the rest of the cast, Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) gives a limited but memorable performance as Lois, Hal and Bill’s single mother. Meanwhile, Colin O’Brien (Wonka) delivers a subdued performance as Petey, Hal’s son. While he has some chemistry with James’ Hal, the material doesn’t give him much to work with. The same can be said for Rohan Campbell (Halloween Kills)’s Thamer and David, a lackey of Bill. Campbell delivers a loud and boisterous performance, which somewhat works given the film’s tone. Rounding out the cast is Elijah Wood (Yellowjackets), who, like Maslany, has a small but memorable role as Petey’s step-father Ted.
Final Thoughts
With The Monkey, director Osgood Perkins adapts Stephen King’s short story into a raucous, dark, blood-soaked tale. Accompanying him is a script that balances horror with dark humor and musings about mortality. All the while, the cinematography matches the production and costume design well. Adding to this is a splendid blend of practical and visual effects for the kill. Finally, the cast, led by a standout, Theo James, in dual roles, delivers good performances throughout. The Monkey is a mad-dash rollercoaster of a film. One that provides just as many scares as it does laughs.
