The Monkey (2025) by Oz Perkins

Director: Oz Perkins

Year: 2025

Country: USA/United Kingdom/Canada

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Supernatural; Horror/Comedy

Plot:

After a series of strange accidents, a teen and his twin brother learn they’ve inherited a strange toy monkey from their dead father that manages to unleash a wave of violent deaths and accidents around everyone it comes across, forcing him to find out how to stop it.

Review:

This was a generally enjoyable if somewhat problematic genre effort. Among the better features here is a generally impressive setup that provides this one with a multi-tiered storyline, providing this with some imaginative elements. The first half here sets this up rather well with the ability to foreshadow the monkey and its deadly powers, which shows off how it can influence his life when he and his brother are both haunted by their father’s possession of the cursed object, with how their lives are shaped up gives this section a rather strong starting point. From his troubles at school to the constant notion of the adults around him succumbing to strange accidents caused by the suspiciously activated toy that unleashes a torrent of mayhem on those around him, this creates a compelling mythology around the creature, turning his life upside down through the comedically-charged accidents.

Those accidents are generally fun and present this one with the kind of likable and brutal genre fare. The series of Rube Goldbergian accidents that take place for the accidents to take place, from the statue that shoots a victim in the stomach before retracting back to its original position and bringing their entrails with the spear, a victim being decapitated at a restaurant when a chopping knife slices their head off, a victim dives into an electrified pool, or random guns go off blasting peoples’ heads off, come off with a silly sensibility that belies their setup. The over-the-top nature of these scenes and the others that arrive after it starts up brings about a series of hilariously goofy moments when the monkey creates a wild and generally fun tone. Waiting around to see the next wild outburst will spark from as everything creates a kind of solid energy here for a lot to like.

There are some issues here that bring this one down. The biggest detriment with this one is the rather bizarre shift of attitude that goes on with the approach shifting between the various parts of the film. The constant jokey tone with the whole series of absurd deaths and confrontations with the monkey being treated as a punchline to a situation makes the whole thing feel disconnected, as the deaths are barely mentioned or have any impact beyond moving to the next setpiece without letting it register, so the cheesiness of the setpiece is the whole purpose. This leads to wildly jarring tones when it’s left with the monkey preparing for its next target in absurd and generally outlandish moments, while the rest of the film is based on a dramatic turn involving the family dynamics at play between the father and his son that ends up making everything feel like random sketches inserted into this story.

The other big factor bringing this down is the wholly underwhelming and problematic final half, which features some confusing elements that don’t make any sense. The different quests to find the doll and where it’s located so they can find out what’s going on to finally stop it, and hardly any of it makes sense or comes together in a fun way, offering up the charge into the abandoned building where they believe it’s being held which is just a series of weird excuses to continue the film going but it never seems to go anywhere important. Instead, it’s too busy working through the same jokes and setup that had been going on continuously in the form of a jokey approach to everything, rather than getting anything else going on that gives everything such a hard time coming together all that well. These factors are all that manage to hold it back.

Overview: ***.5/5

A really fun if somewhat problematic genre effort, there’s enough to like here that it remains imminently watchable and entertaining even with the drawbacks keeping it down. Those with an appreciation of this style, who are fans of the creative crew, or who are curious about it, will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.