The Monkey

The Monkey
Starring Theo James, Christian Convery, Tatiana Maslany, Colin O'Brien
Directed by Osgood Perkins

Death comes for us all, and there's nothing we can do to stop it. It's interesting to consider how death affects people from different cultures, as many in the East see death as a natural transition, a cycle of life, death, and rebirth, and is something that's often celebrated. In Western cultures, especially in America, death is seen as something to be feared and avoided as much as possible. We mourn, grieve, and our lives are forever changed in negative ways due to death. Yet death is inevitable, and nothing we can do can change that - it's something that we need to accept. So why not laugh about it? Why not make death have a sense of humor? It's going to happen anyway, might as well laugh about it. That's the overarching theme to Osgood Perkins' "The Monkey," but it's not the only theme, and for a film that's equal parts horrific and comedic, it's interesting to see how deep he goes with these themes.

When they were young, twins Hal and Bill Shelburn (Christian Convery) didn't understand why their father up and left them and their mother Lois (Tatiana Maslany), leaving behind a closet full of unique valuables from his time as a pilot. One of those collectables was a monkey with a drum, which seemed like an innocent childhood toy, but when the boys turned the key and the monkey banged the drum, someone would die. It didn't listen to the wishes of the key turner, but instead kills indiscriminately, except for the key-turner. After one death in particular, the boys' lives were turned upside down, and they decide to throw the monkey into a well in hopes of ending it forever.

Twenty-five years later, a now-grown Hal (Theo James) is estranged from his brother Bill, along with his son Petey (Colin O'Brien), whom he only sees once a year because he's worried that his generational trauma would transfer to him. Yet when he learns that Petey's new stepfather is planning on adopting him, he takes his son for one last road trip. Unbeknownst to him, the monkey has resurfaced and Bill has claimed it in hopes of getting his revenge for something he holds Hal accountable to when they were children, leading a mess of a chaos in his wake as Hal tries to find them before something happens to Petey.

"The Monkey" is loosely based on a short story by Stephen King, but Osgood Perkins changes a lot from the book to the screen, including having Bill in the story at all (in the story, Hal is an only child). The addition of a twin brother creates a new world of tension, as even as children Hal despised Bill because of his constant bullying, something that didn't change twenty-five years later when they're forced to re-connect. It touches on the family aspect in a deeper manner, whereas typically brothers band together to stop a seemingly unstoppable evil, but here it serves almost as a middle ground mediary - albeit a murderous one - that both brothers use for their own dark purposes.

Theo James and Christian Convery do great in their duel roles of Hal and Bill at different ages, making them both distinctively different than the other where you really believe they're different people (sometimes actors who play duel roles have problems making you believe they're different). There's nothing standout about their performances, but they do well enough to keep you engaged in their story.

There's a lot of comparisons to "Final Destination," as when the monkey beats the drum and someone dies, they die in a very Rube Goldberg way (including a man getting impaled by a fishing spear after a mouse chews through a rope that unleashes the spear, and then bites it more to pull the spear back along with...certain internal organs of said man) that's entertaining and downright laugh-out-loud. Each kill isn't taken seriously, which allows you to enjoy the proceedings (in all their gory goodness) and laugh at what's happening, which in a sense helps you open up to the concept of death and how it comes for us all. If we find humor in it, it's not as frightening, and we feel a little better because of it.

The film also dives into themes that Perkins knows too much about, which is the dysfunctional family dynamic. Perkins is the son of Anthony Perkins, who is best known for his role of Norman Bates in the "Psycho" movies, and who secretly was a homosexual during a time where it was negatively looked down upon. In a sense, he wasn't around for Osgood, and it shows in this movie as Hal and Bill's father disappeared during their childhood, which also affects Petey as he feels Hal has abandoned him, along with another character who is struggling with his father leaving.

Along with that trauma, Osgood's mother was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, and passed away due to the terrorist attacks, which Perkins uses here with Tatiana Maslany as Hal and Bill's mother. She's a caring, nurturing presence, but also a bit out there mentally, as she casually talks about death in front of her young sons as they're eating ice cream at the cemetery (one of the most subtly humorous moments in the film).

Another theme Perkins throws in is dealing with generational trauma, as Hal has taken many steps away from his own son not because he doesn't love him, but because he's worried that his past will affect Petey's future. This film proves no matter how much you try to avoid it, trauma catches up with everyone, and it's how we deal with it that defines us.

Something else I appreciate about this film is the mystery, and how no one cares to see it solved. Where did the monkey come from? Why does he kill? How does it happen? We never find out, and I'm more than okay with that. I'm tired of films doing montages of people searching library records and Internet searches to find out how to destroy something or learn its origin, and "The Monkey" has no such moments. We're not supposed to know all these things, and it allows us to just let go and let the experience happen.

They say humor helps learn hard truths, and "The Monkey" is filled to the brim with humorous moments that drive home the deeper themes Perkins tells, while making it a lean 98 minute film with no filler. Thankfully, everything works in this film no matter how outrageous it gets, it still manages to keep you engaged and entertained from start to finish.

The Score: A+