The Monkey
Hey everyone, and welcome, today we will be talking about the film The Monkey. Fun Fact: the original monkey from the story has cymbals, but that is copyrighted by Disney, so they had to use drums instead. This film came out in 2025 and stars Theo James, Christian Convery, and Tatiana Maslany and was directed by Osgood Perkins. So, without further ado, let's get right into it.
The Monkey follows twins Hal and Bill Shelburn, who inherit a vintage monkey when they are kids, which may make you wonder if it is a toy, and to that, I say it's not a toy, and you should never call it that. If you wind the key on the monkey up, someone will die, but you don't know who. When the twins get older, the weird deaths start again, which forces these estranged brothers back together. They try to find the monkey so they can stop these deaths once and for all.
The Monkey is a Dark Comedy horror film. It has similar vibes to Final Destination, Annabelle, or 1000 Ways to Die.
The Monkey seemed like an interesting topic about a vintage monkey that is causing people to die, and it's from a Stephen King story, so I was immediately invested. It is directed by Osgood Perkins, who did Longleg in 2024, and I honestly thought it would be similar, but it was shocking in a good way in that it was very different from that film. From what I remember from the trailer, I thought the entire movie was going to center around Theo James and was shocked when most of it was about his characters when they were younger. It was an interesting backstory to show how we get to Theo James as an adult version of the characters to see why the brothers would be estranged and behave the way they do. It also made me question how many good stories Stephen King has because I've seen so many I enjoy.
Christian Convery plays the younger versions of Hal and Bill, and he was in it more than I thought he was going to be. I didn't even recognize him as both brothers at first and thought they were different actors. He did such a good job playing two very different characters. one brother, Bill sucked, and I was rooting for his downfall, and the other brother, Hal, was trying to be nice but constant bullying had him wanting to test out the monkey. It was interesting to see why they would use the monkey and how it made their lives so much worse after learning they couldn’t control the deaths. It was perfect to start with them to show how kids didn't understand what was going on and how this would shape their lives.
Tatiana Maslany plays their mom and she was the perfect person for that role. She was really just trying to juggle two kids and then accidentally got caught in the crossfires of the monkey. I really liked her vibe in the movie and she had a cool death even though it did kind of traumatize Bill.
Theo James was great as the older version of the twins, Hal and Bill, but since I didn't realize they were identical, I didn't know why he was playing both. He did a great job of mimicking the mannerisms of his younger counterpart, which I think is important not only since he is playing older versions of these characters but also to show how the twins were so different. It was interesting to see Hal trying not to have relationships even though he has a kid whom he neglected, and then you have Bill who is trying to find the monkey so he can kill him. It was interesting to see Hal trying so hard to protect his kid, which almost ruined that relationship permanently because he was actually pushing him away. I can't believe that nearly all of the deaths from when they were older were caused by Bill, but I’m glad Hal stopped him even though he, unfortunately, met his downfall.
Petey is Hal's son, played by Colin O’Brien, who has been neglected by Hal his whole life and is trying to learn more about his father Hal risks losing him as Petey’s stepfather is trying to replace Hal. it's sad when he learns that his dad has been lying to him when he tries to learn more about his family’s history. I think his wanting to come with his dad is definitely a plus, and he inadvertently helped him by turning the monkey key and killing someone who was holding his dad hostage, making him realize neglecting his son isn't the best way to protect him. He broke the cycle of Generational trauma, which had the men in this family neglecting their sons under the ruse they were saving them.
The monkey feels slightly like an allegory for death in general. Like they know someone is going to die when they turn the key on the monkey, but they don't know who or exactly when it will happen, but they know it will be soon. Usually, it's one death, but in the end, when Bill tried to stop the monkey, he caused a small apocalypse, which was interesting to see that trying to stop it just made it worse.
The movie was surprisingly funny. The relationship with Bill and Hal was funny, and seeing how awkward Hall became as an adult also had me laughing. I love it when they mix in the comedy with the horror elements, and it was a nice way to break up the film.
My favorite part of the film is the deaths. Every single one was so different and so unique, and I thought they were very thought out. I think the way they did the deaths made it seem like it was a freak accident.
The Monkey is a great addition to the horror genre that will have you laughing and wondering what crazy way some people died. It has a great cast and the story keeps you engaged and the more you look at the monkey the more you will feel unsettled.
