The face of the automata monkey takes full form when its lips peel back, revealing its glossy, stained rows of teeth. The stuff of nightmares. The dreadful infamy of the musical toy has sent a shiver down people’s backs of all those who have seen the devilish face of Stephen King’s original short story “The Monkey” since its 1980 release. The animatronic primate, now wielding a drum set instead of cymbals, is back in the cultural zeitgeist with Osgood Perkins’ new version of the same name.  

The kills in this film are as graphic as they are titillating, akin to those of the Final Destination series, but the story ended up being quite underwhelming, with more cliche dialogue than the King’s very original story.

Perkin’s second film after his breakout “Longlegs,” takes liberties with King’s short that ultimately weaken the narrative. Hal (Theo James) is divorced from his wife and separated from his son Petey (Colin O’Brien). We get a look at Hal’s father, not seen before in the original and the biggest missing set piece is the complete abandonment of Hal’s second son, Dennis. Dennis and the rest of Hal’s family were originally the emotional factors keeping the story moving forward. In this iteration, Hal’s relationship with his son is underbaked and ultimately unnatural. 

Perkins does have some tricks up his sleeves giving more purpose to the adaptation. His claustrophobic cinematography, even when using a long shot outside of a large property, feels like you’re trapped in the Grim Reaper’s world. Unusual point-of-view shots were used, which heightened the heart-racing momentum, and colors were masterfully used to show a world slyly more wicked than our own. 

The screenplay is a comedy, which isn’t exactly a bad thing. The first 30 minutes are filled with some pretty pleasing jokes. The dopey priest is extremely unprepared to officiate a funeral and the kills are hilariously ludicrous. However, after a bit of time, the reach for comic sensibilities are pushed, acting as a weird filler for a horror whose main scares are in the image of a toy monkey. 

The performances are a standout of the film. Theo James also brings an engaging deadpan and manic performance playing both twin brothers, Hal and Bill, and Tatiana Maslany shows a lively mother who won’t put on the maternal facade for her two boys. There’s also a goofy cameo from a little known hobbit who absolutely steals the scene rocking a tracksuit and a ginormous tumbler. 

While it seems like Perkins is having a fun time putting together this gore fest, as he brings his cinematic sensibilities along with him, the story is too cushiony to call it anything more than average. “The Monkey” may reach a future cult status, but a lead into the uncanniness of the titular character rather than the focus of unamusing dialogue could have leveled out this film to the trajectory of “classic.”