Movie Review | The Monkey

The Monkey (Photo – Neon)

The Monkey took me back to the 80’s.

The Monkey
Directed by Oz Perkins – 2025
Reviewed by Garrett Rowlan

It was an odd decade for me. I was either between jobs or often a temp or part-timer.

As a result, I spent a lot of time in the Highland Theater (now defunct) in Highland Park. I watched thrillers and slashers while I waited for my life to restart.

The Monkey might have been the kind of movie I saw back then. It belongs to the slasher genre, as the titular toy monkey, when wound up with a key, grins manically, fixedly, and then causes all kinds of murderous mayhem, both horrific and comedic, by remote control of sorts.

It even looks like an 80s movie. The cars and TVs look vintage, and one man describes himself as a “swinger.” Even when the movie supposedly jumps 25 years ahead to show the two twin brothers grown up—one good, one bad, both played by the same actor, Theo James—one brother looks for the other in the white pages. I suppose this is because it’s a small, unchanging New England town, like in a Stephen King novel. In fact, the movie is based on a King short story. But it was often hard to distinguish one era from the other.

Maybe that’s why the movie worked for me. It was a form of gratuitous nostalgia (except for the theater ticket), not to mention the violence.

I don’t mean “worked” in the sense of being an overwhelming cinematic experience, but if you were almost weaned on movies like this, then The Monkey is well worth your time.

> Playing at Regal Paseo, Landmark Pasadena Playhouse, Regency Academy Cinemas, IPIC Theaters, Regal Edwards Alhambra Renaissance, AMC Atlantic Times Square 14, AMC Santa Anita 16, and Regal UA La Canada.