Posted by Stephen King is rather good at creeping you out, and his latest story to get the silver screen treatment is The Monkey. Originally a short story about a demonic toy monkey, Longlegs director Osgood Perkins turned it into a taut 98 minute horror comedy with oodles of blood and guts.
We follow twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn, portrayed by Christian Convery and Theo James as boy and man respectively. They discover a drum playing monkey and wind up the key at the back out of curiosity, and their babysitter meets a rather grisly end in a restaurant. Death and destruction rather than childlike fun is its modus operandi, and despite attempts to get rid of it the evil simian finds a way back into the Shelburn brothers life.
Christian Convery and Theo James portray the Shelburn twins with aplomb, especially the cruel and increasingly deranged Bill. You really feel their traumatic upbringing and you see the effects it has had. Elijah Wood is amusing but underutilised as Ted Hammerman, perfect new age father and the new partner to Hals ex.
The Monkey is a gory good time, which strikes the right tone between horror and comedy. It is creepy and delivers chaos aplenty, with its mouse trap like deaths simultaneously making you laugh and wince. It recalls the gloriously over the top Final Destination as the craziness ramps up, things get silly and the set pieces get entertainingly bigger. Itchy and Scratchy like moments involving a harpoon gun, a horse stampede, a bowling ball and a school bus are particularly memorable.
7.5/10
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