The Monkey (15)
Cast: Christian Convery, Theo James, Tatiana MaslanyGenre: Horror
Author(s): Osgood Perkins
Director: Osgood Perkins
Release Date: 21/02/2025
Running Time: 95mins
Country: US
Year: 2025
Hal Shelburn and his identical twin Bill sift through their absent father's belongings and stumble upon a large box containing a mechanical organ grinder monkey. The boys foolishly turn the key in the plaything's back and soon after, a victim chosen by the automata becomes a 1 in 44 million medical statistic. The pair try to destroy the hand-operated menace but the creepy contraption returns to haunt them with malevolent intent.
LondonNet Film Review
The Monkey (15) Film Review from LondonNet
The mechanical monkey is nuts in writer-director Osgood Perkins’ knockabout follow-up to the atmospheric serial killer thriller, Longlegs. Adapted from one of horror maestro Stephen King’s short stories, this bloodthirsty tale of a wind-up simian with a rictus grin, who heralds the graphic demise of a randomly selected victim by rhythmically banging its drum, spares no expense with viscera and gore…
The gleeful desecration of human bodies begins in a hilariously twisted prologue and continues at pace with severed appendages, a stomach-churning encounter with winged insects and the obliteration of more than one human face by fast-moving or falling projectiles. “Everybody dies. That’s life,” casually explains a doomed character shortly before the Grim Reaper RSVPs to their going-away party, underlining the matter-of-factness with which Perkins – son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins – dispatches most of his highly expendable cast. Elaborate and satisfyingly gooey death sequences are worthy of an instalment of the Final Destination franchise.
Christian Convery and Theo James have a blast playing adolescent and adult incarnations of feuding identical twins, who take their sibling rivalry to the murderous extreme with heavy-handed help from a toy that never misses an unsuspecting target. Perkins’ script drip feeds demented giggles to garnish the glistening entrails including a set piece with an inexperienced priest (Nicco Del Rio), who blunders through a sermon at an open casket funeral, and some sly Stephen King in-jokes (listen for the name of the twins’ babysitter).
Hal Shelburn (Convery) was born three minutes after brother Bill (Convery again), who the younger child claims is more confident and assertive because he “ate most of my mum’s placenta”. Single parent Lois (Tatiana Maslany) raises the boys in the absence of their father, Captain Petey (Adam Scott). When the siblings sift through the old man’s belongings, they stumble upon a large box containing a mechanical organ grinder monkey and foolishly turn the key in the plaything’s back.
Soon after, a victim chosen by the automata becomes a 1 in 44 million medical statistic. The pair try to destroy the hand-operated menace before relocating to the home of uncle Chip (Osgood Perkins) and aunt Ida (Sarah Levy), who make few promises: “We’re going to do our very best with you boys… it’s just our very best might be pretty bad.” Twenty-five years later, adult Hal (James) and his son Petey (Colin O’Brien) confront vengeful ghosts of the past.
The Monkey serves up a scare-free smorgasbord of splatter, which clearly telegraphs the next victim. Gallows humour necessitates hair-pin tonal shifts that elicit the only jolts of surprise. The eponymous mechanism is relentless and seemingly unstoppable, suggesting limitless sequels if audiences respond favourably to the wanton bloodshed. It may be some years until we get this monkey off our backs.
– Kim Hu
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London Cinemas Showing The Monkey
From: Friday 11th April
To: Thursday 17th April
Wed 21:40
Fri/Sat 23:00
From: Friday 18th April
To: Thursday 24th April
UK and Irish Cinemas Showing The Monkey
From: Friday 11th April
To: Thursday 17th April
Mon 18:30; Tue 15:40
Tue 21:10
Sat 22:20
Fri 22:40; Sun 21:20
Odeon Luxe Birmingham Broadway Plaza
Fri 23:10
Odeon Luxe Liverpool Switch Island
Fri/Sat 22:50
Thu 21:10
Thu 21:00
Tue-Thu 21:00
From: Friday 18th April
To: Thursday 24th April
Thu 21:30
Fri-Sun 22:00
12:45 (Tue-Thu) 22:00
