The various adaptations of Stephen King’s stories have been a mixed bag through the decades. Thankfully, The Monkey does not take itself too seriously, which results in a solid horror comedy film.
The film is centered around a cursed monkey toy that plays a drum when its key is wound up. That triggers someone near the monkey to die in an accident and only the user is immune from being chosen. It’s a fun, simple premise and the creativity and gratuity of the death scenes are what keep the movie entertaining.
The main character is Hal, who discovers the monkey at a young age with his twin brother, Bill, who bullies him relentlessly. After the monkey kills their mom and subsequently their uncle, who takes them in, the boys bury the cursed toy – but it resurfaces 25 years later. While the plot and performances aren’t particularly special, the deaths caused by the monkey do a good job of building tension before the violent and comedic payoff.
As the film goes through its story of Hal trying to reconnect with his son and Bill being obsessed with the monkey’s powers, the mediocrity of the plot and acting become more grating. The first chunk of the movie spends a lot of time establishing these characters, but it all feels like a by-the-numbers horror plot. The good news is that the kill count also keeps ramping up towards the end.
The comedic tone does a lot to keep The Monkey from being another forgettable murder flick. The death scenes grow more and more absurd, and they also manage to have good comedic timing. Even a simple shotgun blast causes someone to explode. It’s something that helps sand off the rough edges of constant death, so that it keeps the movie lighthearted, despite the morbid theme of death being random and chaotic.
One thing I appreciated about the story is that it doesn’t go to great lengths to explain what the monkey is or how it works. As far as anyone knows, it’s a cursed toy with no defined origin that chooses its victims at random. A number of horror movies get lost in the weeds of explaining the supernatural with scenes of someone talking about ancient curses or demons possessing objects. This film thankfully skips all that and keeps it simple.
It’s unlikely that anything in The Monkey would actually scare someone outside of the tension that builds before a kill. At the same time, it’s a movie that doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares and focuses on what it does best, for the most part. It’s a solid film for anyone who enjoys a little blood and gore with their comedy.
Author Bio:
Ulises Duenas is a senior writer and film critic at Highbrow Magazine.
For Highbrow Magazine