Director Oz Perkins has directed famous author Stephen King’s 1980 short story, “The Monkey” into a film. The movie was released to theaters on Feb 21. It included the famous creative horror aspects that King is most known for.
The film is about two twin brothers named Hal and Bill Shelburn. They are both played by British actor Theo James, who found a toy monkey that causes a strange death when played with. After discovering the outcomes of winding up this toy monkey, they get rid of the monkey with hopes to never see it again. 25 years later, it reappears leading to another series of strange deaths. Desperate to put an end to these series of deaths, and protect those closest to him, Hal Shelburn goes out in search for the same toy he thought to have gotten rid of 25 years ago.
Being that this film was labeled as a “horror” film, it was not as scary as it seemed. The film was more recognizable in other aspects like comedy and psychological horror. It contained gruesome scenes which included it as a “horror” film. Compared to many other of King’s most well-known films like “It”, “Carrie”, or “The Shining” this film was similar in the science fiction, horror style that King usually sticks to, but was nowhere near as scary. Then again, it is worth noting that this film was based off a short story film and not an actual book.
Although this film was not as scary as intended, it made up for it with aspects of humor that at times could have even been looked at as a sort of satire humor. The movie is labeled as both a horror and comedy, so it is still worth going to watch if looking for a good laugh and something different to watch that could be closely related to horror.
This film overall was an enjoyable watch and something different to see. It demonstrated and combined both the creativeness of King’s short story and the humor of the younger generation.