By Bob Grimm

The Monkey, the latest in a string of strong recent horror offerings, starts off so well that it would be fair to think director/screenplay writer Osgood Perkins (Longlegs) might have a true classic in the making. 

Unfortunately, the great start is followed by a second half of diminishing returns—but The Monkey is still worth watching.

When The Monkey works, it really works. The film is based on a short story written by the one and only Stephen King, and Perkins captures that weird, otherworldly vibe of King’s best works. The film is odd, surreal and really funny when it’s clicking. 

It’s also really gross, and the gore effects are a mixed bag. While some of the onscreen mayhem looks credible, the film suffers from some of the worst CGI since that awful prequel to The Thing. 

Hal and Bill (both played by Christian Convery in their younger versions) are living with their mom after their dad (Adam Scott in a funny cameo) disappears. Their mom (the very funny Tatiana Maslany) deals with the horrors of raising young boys on her own, often shouting out directions from the kitchen while trying to make them increasingly complicated snacks. 

They find an old trinket from their dad, a world-traveling pilot: a drumming monkey toy that looks evil from the start. When the key is turned, the monkey drums—and people in the vicinity die horrible, messy and somewhat comical deaths.

As grown-ups, Hal and Bill (both played by Theo James) are haunted by their monkey-toy killing pasts. No matter what they do, and no matter what kind of destruction they try to bring upon the monkey, the thing reforms and finds them. When the brothers start weaponizing the monkey to target people, including each other, things understandably get out of hand. 

The film’s start is gangbusters, with hilarious dialogue and creative character endings. There’s a funeral scene in this movie that made me laugh so loud that people turned to look at me. (I kind of hate when that happens, but it happens.) The tone of the first half is so solid, and so funny, that it proves impossible to maintain. 

The second half heads in a silly, somewhat tedious direction that plays upon father-son relationships. Hal has a young son, Petey (Colin O’Brien); Hal is divorced and fighting with Petey’s stepfather (a funny Elijah Wood) for custody. Apart from the hilarious moments with Wood, this subplot drags the film down a bit. 

It all leads up to an apocalyptic ending that reminds a bit of films like King’s The Mist, and Perkins doesn’t quite nail the landing. There’s one particular joke in the closing minutes that should’ve been hilarious, but it winds up landing with a loud thud because of its rushed timing. 

The performances are admirable throughout, with Convery especially good playing twins. I had no idea Convery was playing both brothers until well into the movie, when I discovered James was also playing both brothers. James does fine as the older brothers, but it’s Convery who is the most convincing as two separate characters. That earns Mr. Convery a gold star.

I still think Perkins is on his way to becoming one of our best horror directors. The Monkey is uneven, but it has some powerfully good momentum at times, and shows what Perkins is capable of—while also showing some of his procedural flaws. I got the sense that perhaps the movie needed a little more time to gestate. Perkins is turning out films at a rapid pace; He might want to think about slowing down. 

In fact, a rare end-credits preview shows Perkins has another horror film coming soon: Keeper is already in post-production and due for release later this year.