Last year, Osgood Perkins' Longlegs had an audacious ad campaign that heralded the film as the scariest movie you'll ever see. The trailers played it up as a crazy thrill ride when in reality, I don't think Perkins any desire to make something like that. Having been a fan of his initial directing efforts The Blackcoat's Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, I never expected him to deviate from his slow paced style. And why would you? I want directors who make unique films true to their sensibilities, not just fit into cookie cutter templates. So when I saw the trailer for Osgood Perkin's The Monkey, I knew this wasn't going to be the pop horror it implied itself to be.
That being said, the premise is as simple and pop as you can get. Based very loosely on a Stephen King story, The Monkey focuses on very dissimilar twin brothers, Hal and Bill, who discover a mysterious relic in their absent father's closet. Encased in a blue bin labeled "Like Life" is a mechanical monkey and it's drum. The pair soon finds that turning the monkey's key, something a note within the box directs them to do, results in accidental deaths of those around them.
And that's were the more mainstream aspects of the film end. Like other Oz Perkins films, The Monkey is slow, hypnotizing, and deliberate film (or some non fans would say slow, plodding, and boring) and why anyone would expect anything else is a little misguided. I feel the key in my back keeps getting turned, but i need to reiterate: this isn't some mega corporation like Disney plucking an arthouse director from the awards circuit to sprinkle a little of their touch to an already aesthetically established world. No, this is Perkins getting to sprinkle an established genre ever so gently on to his distinct style. In this case it's absurdist black humor and boisterously over the top deaths that he has splattered all over the film. It a pretty distinct dissonance that rings like a beautiful melody here.
The first of half of the film revolves of the twins discovery of The Monkey through the POV of the more timid Hal as he suffers embarrassment after embarrassment from the kids at school and his brother Bill (both played incredibly well by Christian Convery). While this potion of the film takes place in the late 90s, it's location and general vibe seems closer to the 70s and 80s of Perkins own youth (a bit more on that later). Regardless this opening sets up the premise and themes incredibly well especially through Tatiana Maslany's fantastic portrayal of Lois, the twins direct and endlessly caring mother.
Second half of the film follows Hal as he descends into a mediocre adulthood, mirroring his father's absentee nature as he only sees his son once a year. Bill on the other-hand remains a mystery up until his demons catch up to him and you realize that shit bag kid turned into a shit bag adult. This time Theo James takes on the dual roles and while at time feels a little miscast, especially as Hal, James manages to make you believe he could truly be one of these two losers. Here is where the forward moment of the story finally comes into frame and we can see where things are headed: super funny deaths with only a threadbare rhyme or reason for them (at least on the surface).
Those deaths are stuff of absurdist fantasies. I won't spoil any of them or their Rube Goldberg sequences, but right from the first one you are cued in that this isn't about realism and fearful brutality, but rather the machinations of pure gory nonsense and way more fun than such horrific acts should be. You are literally cheering these gruesome and comically overblown moments on and so are some of the characters in the film. Hal's brother Bill for instance seems gleefully intent on creating havoc for his own malicious intentions.
While I'm sure it can be hard to find meaning in the film as it so haphazardly crawls along, I think that feeling of "what does it all mean" is just one of the main themes the films resonates with. Death, whether it comes in the form of the tragic and untimely death of a family member or through a cursed Monkey who wields it's power with reckless abandon, can feel random and careless. The film emits nihilistic tendencies throughout, which often fuels the hilariously dark vibe in the situations. However there are a few moments of acceptance of the macabre world around the characters that shine a bit of hopeful light into the pitch black comedy, like when Lois urges the kids to dance their pain away after a funeral early on in the film.
The film clearly want to have its cake and eat it too. It as vapid as you want it to be and as deep as you can must. If just enjoying the craziness is not enough and you're dead set on gleaming more meaning within the film, the revolving door of bad dads in the film and the possible autobiographical nature of their depiction is nothing to scoff at. Many lines feel like Perkins revealing just a bit of his feelings toward the shadow his father, the horror icon Anthony Perkins, left on his life and career.
But also this is really is a fun movie where people explode because of an evil toy monkey with seemingly no rules deems it to be. Just sit back and enjoy the manic mixture of slow burn pace and rapid, unrelenting death.
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