After the success of his Nicolas Cage creeper Longlegs, filmmaker and writer Osgood Perkins joins forces with a terrifying team-up that includes Master of Horror Stephen King and nightmare-inducer extraordinaire James Wan to create a new phobia for moviegoers.
Starring Theo James in a double role, as well as Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, and Perkins himself as a supporting player, The Monkey is loosely based one of King’s infamous short stories from his revered collection of terrifying tales, Skeleton Crew, though most people remember the horrifying image of the dead-eyed chimp staring back from the cover of the paperback. The thriller follows a set of twin brothers who discover a cursed mechanical monkey toy that once belonged to their father in the attic of an old house. After the revelation, a series of tragedies befalls the duo, forcing them to take somewhat drastic measures when it comes to removing the simian novelty from their lives. However, it appears that evil cannot be extracted so easily.
Given the pedigree behind the film and its prominent, somewhat bold tagline of “Everyone dies. And that’s f*cked up,” it is safe to say The Monkey aims to up the ante when it comes to frightening filmgoers.
