The Monkey is a film which comes directed by Osgood Perkins. The film stars Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery and Colin O’Brien. It is a film that is both a dark comedy and horror.
This movie is a simple horror story about two young brothers who find their father’s old monkey hidden in the basement. They start to play with it, but have no idea that the monkey is cursed and is evil. Horrible consequences occur throughout the film, causing the two brothers to drift apart.
I was looking forward to seeing this movie, it’s another movie that’s based on Stephen King story and I like these Stephen King story movies. This one play out like a short story because there’s not much to it, so it’s a good thing that run time is just enough so it doesn’t drag on too long. Watching the Monkey toy come alive and waiting to see what it does builds suspense, similar to watching the Annabelle (2014) film. It can be a bit scary waiting to see what happens.
The dark comedy elements of the movie are for those who like this kind of humour. Some of the character deaths are funny a little bit and at least in the cinema I was in, people were laughing. It is dark comedy though, so if you go to see this movie make sure that is something you actually like, otherwise you might not enjoy the movie.
The actors are good. The movie is in two parts, there’s the story of when the brothers are young and then it leaps into time in the latter half to show the brothers when they are older. I much preferred this story with the actors that were younger. Both of those kids were great. The second half of the film with the older actors was okay, but I didn’t think it was as good as the first half.
If you are going to the cinema this week and are looking for a horror film and like Stephen King stories in general then The Monkey might be something worth seeing. Most of the enjoyment comes from I think how much you like dark comedy though and if you find this a good thing. If you do, then definitely go see The Monkey. I guess enjoying this film depends on your sense of humour.
