The Monkey (2025) Movie Review

The Monkey (2025) Movie Review

Osgood Perkins, son of Norman Bates himself, the late, great Anthony Perkins, has become one of Hollywood’s most unique voices in the Horror genre, creating some of the best horror films of the past 10 years, becoming a modern artier in the genre with films such as; ‘The Blackcoats Daughter’ (2017) (February here in Australia), ‘I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in The House’ (2018), ‘Gretel and Hansel’ (2020), ‘Longlegs’ (2023) and this years ‘The Monkey’. His distinct style and ability to create eerie atmosphere, from very limited settings, has become a staple in his films After the massive success of his supernatural, serial killer flick ‘Longlegs’ in 2024, audiences were eagerly awaiting his next release, ‘The Monkey’, based on a short story by legendary horror author, Stephen King. The film hit theatres across the globe in February 2025, grossing an impressive $69 million at the Worldwide box office, and holding an impressive certified fresh critical rating of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. As a fan of Perkins previous films, I was excited to see what he would do next and even more excited when I found out it was a horror/comedy.

‘The Monkey’ follows twin brothers Hal and Bill (both played by Theo James), whose lives spiral into chaos after discovering a cursed, cymbal-clapping toy monkey among their late father's belongings. Every time the monkey plays its drums, someone nearby dies in a gruesome and seemingly random accident. Years later, now estranged adults, Hal and Bill are forced to reunite when the monkey resurfaces, threatening their loved ones—including Hal’s son, Petey (played by Christian Convery). As the body count rises, the brothers must confront their past and the evil that has haunted them for decades. As a fan of Perkins work, I was excited to see him tackle something completely different from his other films, and I’m happy to report it’s a bloody good time!

Osgood Perkins does a complete 180 behind the camera, delivering a film that is completely different to everything he’s done before. His previous works have built atmosphere through slow, methodical pacing, limited settings and character drama. Whilst there are still elements of that here, ‘The Monkey’ plays more like a straightforward horror/comedy, playing into the absurdist nature of its high concept. Perkins has proven in the past he has comedic sensibilities, if you’ve ever heard an interview with him or seen some of his performances in front of the camera (including a director in Nope), you know what I’m talking about, however, behind the camera his films have been far more sombre taking themselves way more seriously. We have over-the-top death sequences here, that feel like they are paying homage to films in the ‘Final Destination’ franchise, that lend themselves to great comedic set-pieces. Seeing this flick opening weekend, in a busy cinema, showed that Perkins understood the assignment, and delivered a crowd-pleasing, over-the-top horror/comedy.

The film features a dual performance from Theo James as brothers Hal and Bill which really should be the selling point of the film. James has shaken the tee heart-throb status of his early career in films like the ‘Divergent’ series and ‘Underworld: Awakening’, to take on more serious work in Mike White’s second season of ‘The White Lotus’, and here, playing two vastly different characters to what he’s played before. Both characters are so different from one another, with very distinct traits and characteristics. I found him to be really good here. He’s funny when he needs to be funny, he’s conniving and evil when he needs to be and he’s charming as well. He’s always likeable on screen, even when he maybe shouldn’t be. James really elevates the film here, with not many actors’ game enough to be in a film like this. It’s gory, it’s over-the-top, but it always fun.

‘The Monkey’ is one of the sharpest turns from a director I have ever seen. Osgood Perkins slow-burn style of horror with films like ‘The Blackcoats Daughter’, ‘Gretel and Hansel’ and ‘Longlegs’ is all that is out the window here. The Monkey is hilarious, serving as an over-the-top horror comedy, filled to the brim with gore, hilarious deaths and some of the best comedic edits I’ve seen in a film in a while. Theo James is fantastic in his dual role, showing his talents as an actor. This flick was an absolute blast, and I recommend all horror fans see this on the big screen. ‘The Monkey’ hits physical media on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD this July, be sure to pre-order your copy from Sanity today, you won’t want to miss it!

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Christopher Pattison from Oz-Movie Geek wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here.