Osgood Perkins terrified cinemagoers in 2024 with the release of the Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe-starring satanic horror Longlegs. Building on his impressive filmography – also featuring The Blackcoat's Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House – Perkins has added to the wealth of Stephen King adaptations with his version of the short story The Monkey.

Starring Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Sarah Levy, and Perkins himself, The Monkey opens with Adam Scott's Captain Petey Shelburn desperately trying to pawn a sinister-looking monkey drummer toy which appears to be broken, with its arm stuck holding a drumstick in the air. As Petey explains to the shop owner, everyone in the room will be ‘fucked to hell' if the drumstick falls – and it doesn't take long for him to be proven right. Skip to 1999 and we join twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn (both played by Christian Convery) who have been abandoned by their father, leaving mother Lois (Maslany) to raise them. Bill torments his brother Hal, who is much more meek than his older twin (older by minutes, as he loves to remind him of).

While going through their estranged father's possessions, they come across the monkey drummer and discover its terrifying purpose – turn the key, wait for it to stop drumming, and then it will kill someone at random. It seemingly never kills the person behind the key, but it also doesn't take requests as to who to kill. After destroying their family, Hal and Bill rid themselves of the monkey. But 25 years later, the now estranged brothers (both played by James) are reunited as the monkey seems to have crawled its way out of the well they tossed it in, much to Hal's dismay during a road trip with his son Petey (Colin O'Brien).

Perkins has transformed the spine-chilling story into a horror-comedy, carried by its oddball characters and truly bizarre story that is equal parts tragic and impossible to believe. The one-liners come as thick and fast as the bone-crunching, blood-splattering kills, creating an almost head-spinning effect that disorients the viewer with its surreality. But between its more weird and wonderful moments, the narrative is grounded by some touching reflections on death, grief, absent parents, and fractured familial relationships that evoke tears just moments after a scene filled with pitch-black humour.

The film's marketing promises gore by the bucket load, and it certainly delivers with creative kill after creative kill that doesn't skimp on the red stuff. Mousetrap-style disasters that rival Final Destination are littered throughout the film, creating a sense of unease with every prop or set piece leaving viewers to desperately seek out any potential dangers that will befall the ensemble cast. The onslaught of violence leaves little space to really get to know some characters, meaning their deaths are quickly forgettable without an emotional gut punch to accompany them. It creates a lull in the second act of The Monkey that slows the pace of the dark opening, but it finds its stride once more as it enters the bonkers final act.

Both Convery and James deliver mind-blowing performances as Bill and Hall, fully believable as two separate people despite, of course, being one person juggling two very different roles. They nail each twin's mannerisms to the finest detail, so much so that it is very easy to forget there is only one actor behind them both. Similarly, Maslany delivers a punchy performance at Lois with a monologue about death so heartfelt yet blunt that it will stick with audiences far beyond the rolling credits. Wood's strange role as Ted, the new boyfriend of Petey's mother, offers some of the biggest laughs of the film in just one scene, as does Perkins' character Uncle Chip.

The Monkey balances grisly kills and gut-busting laughter in equal measure. While it skates across the surface of its more emotional, thought-provoking themes among the mayhem rather than offering a truly nuanced look at the topics it touches on, Perkins' latest offering is a fun splatter-fest that highlights that sometimes, the best way to deal with death is to laugh – and laugh lots.

The Monkey is released in cinemas on 21st February 2025.

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