Take what you know about Oz Perkins' filmmaking and set those signatures ablaze. The Monkey is unlike anything Perkins has helmed thus far (complimentary). It's morbidly hilarious, high-energy, and smothered in an avalanche of gore. Perkins' adaptation of Stephen King's short story (included in Skeleton Crew) is a comically bleak confrontation of Death that notches spectacular kill scenes at a brisk clip. Imagine a Twilight Zone episode influenced by Final Destination and an 80s-sized mountain of cocaine — that's The Monkey. I would never have guessed Perkins had this midnighter mentality in his arsenal, holstering his penchant for slow-burn thrills and lingering, whispering dread.
Central to the story are Hal and Bill, twin brothers cursed by a drumming toy monkey they find in their deadbeat dad's closet (papa's played by Adam Scott). Hal and Bill's mother Lois (Tatiana Maslany) does her best to raise adolescent boys alone, until she drops dead due to a freak medical incident. Hal (Christian Convery) fears "The Monkey" is to blame, but dares not tell Bill (also Christian Convery). They chuck their furry adversary down a well, hoping to escape further bloodshed. Decades pass, and the brothers stop talking, but then it happens again — Hal (Theo James) witnesses a petrifying accidental death, and he knows what's coming. The Monkey has returned, and he'll need Bill's help (also Theo James) to end the carnage.
Perkins sheds his hallmarks from the very first scene: a speargun, a pawn shop clerk, and strung intestines set a disgusting tone. It's an amuse-bouche before the buffet of exaggerated violence that befalls anyone in Hal and Bill’s orbit. The Monkey is a smorgasbord of restaurant beheadings, electrocution combustion, and other emphatically graphic "Rube Golderbergian" ways innocent people die. Every time Mr. Monkey's drumstick twirls and his hand strikes the instrument, we giddily wait to see how Perkins will outdo whichever last act of kill sequence left our collective mouths agape. Special FX teams led by VFX Supervisor Chris Van Dyck, Associate VFX Supervisor Fenner Rocklee, and CG Supervisor Dmitry Vinnik earn their damn keep, turning fleshy bodies into puddles of campfire chili, or packing a cannon with body goop that's fired with seismic force.
The Monkey is merciless, but it's also hilarious. Perkins' interpretation of King's cruel relationship with Death means horrific consequences of The Monkey's rata-tat-tat will cause many a shocked howl. That might create a tonal blockage for some — as bodies pile, there's an unseriousness about graveyard overflow. Casco's established like a Tim Burton-y bubble, where realtors, shopkeeps, and other local simpletons barely blink at the obscure death rate in their rural habitat. Perkins is having a blast, and there's dogged hopefulness in the film's fully arced themes about brotherly standoffs and bystander casualties, but The Monkey is still an ultra-vicious splatter flick that smirks throughout.
Theo James plays into an uncanniness by portraying both single-father Hal and reclusive miser Bill. Even their clothing evokes a surreal mania — Bill refashions his childhood funeral suit with a Guy Fieri-esque flame shirt to accompany an atrocious bowl(ish) cut. James plays two traumatized adults dealing with The Monkey's burden in drastically interesting ways, but not to outshine Christian Convery as lil' Hal and Bill, tempting The Monkey's unforgiving fates as children with access to an unearthly doomsday device. The cast is encouraged to explore weirdness, with Tatiana Maslany's mother sharing blunt "Everybody dies, kids" wisdom to Perkins as a mutton-chopped swinger uncle. Other additions like Elijah Wood are barely in The Monkey, but that doesn't stop him from hamming it up as a leading Father of the Year seminar guru.
Not to bring the mood down, but Perkins does not escape typical short-to-feature adaptation issues. Rohan Campbell of Halloween Kills fame plays a grungy troublemaker who becomes Perkins' fix to how The Monkey reemerges (without saying more) — a bit shoehorned. Neon's The Monkey elaborates on King's truncated tale about Death riding a pale horse in curt fashion, turning the film into a wave of mutilation that thrives on excess. For those who aren't looking for a 97-minute "dielight" reel, you'll struggle with The Monkey. It's not a one-trick pony, but the film's best trick is so dominant that less appreciative viewers might choose that wording.
Did Oz Perkins direct the most brutal, unflinching, and spectacularly gory horror movie of 2025? It's possible, no hyperbole. The Monkey will divide audiences through grinning deviance and Perkins' sinister silliness, keying into King's charbroiled-dark material with an upbeat tempo. Are you ready for Oz Perkins, the midnight movie madman? I sure as hell wasn't, but I hope he's back again soon.
Movie Score: 4/5
Matt Donato is a Los Angeles-based film critic currently published on SlashFilm, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and anywhere else he’s allowed to spread the gospel of Demon Wind. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. Definitely don’t feed him after midnight.
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