“The Monkey,” directed by Osgood Perkins, promised to be one of the most intriguing movies of the year, but after sitting through it I felt frustrated and disappointed. 

Last year, Perkins directed the film, “Longlegs,” a psychological thriller centered around a woman who becomes fixated on the mysterious vanishing of her neighbor, uncovering hidden truths that threaten to unravel her own life. I thought it was one of the best religious horror movies I’ve seen, so when I found out Perkins was adapting “The Monkey” from the Stephen King novel, I was thrilled. 

From the trailers, “The Monkey” looked to be a horror-comedy. As someone who loves horror, the genre of horror-comedy typically falls short for me. Most horror comedies fail to scare the audience or make them laugh — “The Monkey” is a perfect example of this. The film does not take itself seriously at all, which you have to remember going into this film. 

The premise is odd — an ancient spirit in the form of a wind-up monkey terrorizes a town. Whoever twists the handle on the wind-up monkey has to deal with the people closest to them dying in the most gruesome way you can think of. 

As someone who lives for the “Saw” franchise, gore does not bother me. Rather, it intrigues me. One of the biggest struggles the movie has is that the CGI looks outdated. The “Saw” franchise is 20 years old and looks more realistic than anything from “The Monkey.” 

The first half of the film dragged on unnecessarily, with long sequences of exposition that only served to stall the narrative. We are introduced to a group of characters who are supposed to serve as our emotional anchor, but instead of building tension, the film seemed content to give us flat, lifeless dialogue.

Theo James plays the dual role of twins Hal and Bill Shelburn, who have been left with the haunted object since childhood. James does a good job of playing the characters, but I couldn’t help but cringe at 90% of his dialogue. If I wanted to watch a movie with James butchering dialogue, I would rather watch him play Four in “Divergent” —  and that’s saying a lot. 

What had me checking my watch, though, was the way the film attempted to build suspense. Horror films need to build tension, layering unease and dread over time slowly.  “The Monkey” loves to throw random, jarring moments at the screen with little context. Every time a creepy event would happen, it felt like it came out of nowhere, with no emotional weight behind it. 

The infamous jump scare moments, which had been advertised as the film’s big draw, were laughably predictable and lacked any real punch. It didn’t feel like there was any real build-up or effort to make them effective — they were just inserted into the script as if checking off a box on a list of horror tropes.

All in all, “The Monkey” had a lot of potential. The premise could have led to something eerie and memorable, but instead, we’re left with a horror film that feels like a half-baked idea stretched far beyond its limits. The lack of strong performances, poor pacing, unconvincing visual effects and confusing tonal shifts make it hard to see this as anything more than a missed opportunity. It’s a film that could have been terrifying and hilarious, but instead, it’s an exercise in frustration. 

If you’re looking for a genuinely unsettling horror experience, “The Monkey” is not the film to turn to. It’s more of a trick than a treat.

Edited by Alyssa Royston | aroyston@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Jayden Bates-Bland and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com