Holy shit. This movie is so good. I have few other movies really to compare it to. The only movies that comes to mind would be the 2017 film Lowlife directed by Ryan Prows, which is a super-banger film, and Final Destination — and I mean that in the best way possible, as we love Final Destination around here.
I will absolutely not spoil this film for you. The casting is so fucking good, and provided just as many “OH SHIT!!!! moments” as the kills. Coming off of Longlegs, I am really glad to see the direction this film took. Longlegs felt…unfinished? The final act of Longlegs lost the grounded narrative that it was building from the beginning, whereas The Monkey. The Monkey made me ITCH to see each consecutive scene.
Theo James is so understated in this role, which felt like the perfect way to play this, as the rest of the entire film is completely insane. The only issue I had with Theo James is that he is absolutely fucking shredded, and that felt weird to have essentially a body builder in the role of what is supposed to be a nerd. I’m not saying it has to have the body of McLovin but like, something in between maybe. Also he is British, and any time a Brit has an American accent, it is very noticeable. Pulled me out of it once or twice. Also Christian Convery SLAPS in this role. Kingston Chan stole the show with a hilarious single scene.
Edo Van Breemen’s atmospheric score is as sparse as it is haunting. Finally, Oz Perkins is a bad ass, and comes at every choice from a novel and unexpected angle, that breaks the horror formula. This is not the movie you might think it is based on the semi-viral poster. Absolutely must-see.
