Opening 20 Feb 2025
Directed by:
Osgood Perkins
Writing credits:
Osgood Perkins, Stephen King
Principal actors:
Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Elijah Wood
It’s 1999 and Hal and Bill are twin boys living with their single mom (Tatiana Maslany). The boys search through family possessions and find the monkey, left behind by their dad, who took off long ago. It is a toy organ-grinder with drumsticks in his paws and a drum on his lap. Turn the key and it begins to strike the drum as music plays. Unluckily, this is not the only reaction when played. People die: Annie their babysitter and then their mom, which means they must move to Maine to live with Aunt Ida and Uncle Chip. There are more deaths, and the only solution is to cut up the monkey and throw it away. Naturally, twenty-five years later it is still there. Hal and Bill are grown up and living apart, not having seen each other for ten years. Hal has a stepson Petey (Colin O’Brien), whom he sees once a year. Bill calls for the first time in five years. He has decided to collect the monkey. Also, a young man named Ricky (Rohan Campbell) has the same goal and even dresses up as a policeman to force his demands. Certainly not a good idea, considering that people are still dying, every time the key is turned.
The Monkey is based on a short story by Stephen King. Theo James plays both grown-up twin brothers, Hal and Bill. Christian Convery plays both twins as young boys. The killer monkey is just a toy but has a definite personality with a gleaming smile. Who laughs during a horror movie? Perhaps a rare experience, but here, in this “horror” film you will be laughing from the first thirty seconds until the last scene ninety-five minutes later. How about the sentence “I want to suck its banana.”? Supported by thirteen songs including “Twisting the Night Away.” Filmed in Vancouver, Canada. (Becky Tan)
