Osgood Perkins has returned with a new horror movie based on the Stephen King short story The Monkey. Last year, Perkins delighted critics and audiences with his insane thriller Longlegs. Can he capture that same magic? The absolutely bananas of a movie stars Theo James in a dual role, Tatiana Maslany and Colin O’Brien.

The Monkey follows twin brothers who find a mysterious wind-up monkey, and a series of outrageous deaths tear their family apart. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree, forcing the estranged siblings to confront the cursed toy.

The Monkey Review

As someone who was not a fan of Longlegs, I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Monkey. This movie is BANANAS. Yes, this review will have many puns, and I apologize in advance. Forty years later, we may have finally figured out who put the banana in the tailpipe.

Theo James was an absolute GEM in this movie. He plays the (banana) split role of the twin brothers, and the older variations of this character truly come to life, showing a range from James that we hadn’t seen before. This is my favorite performance of his to date. There are several moments when they peel (see what I did there) back layers of the characters that were fantastic.

I’ll be honest, that monkey might be small in stature, but he is terrifying. The whole build-up to the moment he is ready to kill his latest victim is creepy. Perkins builds the suspense, allowing you to see that NOONE is safe, and leaves you on the edge of your seat. Perkins’s writing of every layer of this script is brilliant.

Another stand-out thing was the creative kills. I don’t believe a single kill in this movie was like any of the others. It was like a blend of Final Destination with a wild monkey going bananas on the entire world. Perkins is a mad man who has one twisted mind.

Is The Monkey worth watching?

Overall, if you were a fan of Longlegs, don’t expect to walk into this and see the same movie because it is vastly different. For me, that was for the better because this was fantastic. Osgood Perkins’s willingness to lean into the dark comedy aspect of the film with this monkey made this movie very fun to watch. In short, YES, The Monkey is worth checking out on the big screen. If you are looking for a wild, crazy, and absolutely bananas of a time, this is the movie for you.

The Monkey hits theaters on Friday, February 21.