By Jate Britton
Videographer
“The Monkey,” adapted from the short story by Stephen King, is a film directed by Oz Perkins that was released on Feb. 21, 2025.
The story follows a pair of identical twins who discover a toy monkey in their absent father’s closet. The twins discover that whenever the toy monkey plays its drum, it causes someone near them to die in a grotesque way. Because of this, the twins discard the toy into the bottom of a well. Several years later, however, the monkey returns.
The film has remarkable CGI and special effects, making the gore, which the movie is already filled with, all the more repulsive. While the film’s trailers and promotions would lead you to believe that this is a horror movie, it feels much more like a dark comedy.
I went into this movie expecting a horror movie, but I left disappointed. If I had known it would be a dark comedy, I may not have been as eager to watch it. The trailers for the film don’t include much of the comedic elements of the movie, and the frightening imagery and audio make the film appear to be more horror-like than comedic. This contrasts with the film’s tones of dark comedy, which is heavily weighted in overdramatized and cartoonish deaths and the relationships between characters.
The film executes a blend of comedy and gut-wrenching gore nicely. The death scenes are over-the-top and generally unrealistic. And while the gore special effects are impressive, they will leave the audience nauseous. Fans of dark comedy who don’t mind gore may find these dramatic and cartoon-like scenes appealing, while others may find these comedic depictions of people dying upsetting.
The main character, Hal, played by Theo James, plays wonderfully into the surreal theme and comedic nature of the film. Acting almost as a vessel for the audience, he is shocked by all of the film’s exaggerated deaths. His son, Petey, played by Colin O’Brien, gives a very convincing performance of being blissfully unaware of all the grotesque and disturbing things happening around him.
The film’s cinematography and sound design lean more towards the horror aspect of the film. There are multiple suspenseful scenes throughout the film of the monkey playing its drum, warning the audience of a gruesome death coming up, as well as tense audio and music to induce anxiety in viewers. This horror buildup fails to deliver, however, as many of the deaths are done for a comedic effect and fail to frighten the viewer as much as they could have.
While “The Monkey” is appealing to fans of dark comedy, its promotions mislead viewers to think it’s primarily a horror film. The gore is graphic and not suited for someone who is squeamish.
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