“Turn the key, see what happens,” are the instructions for an oversized, sardonically grinning toy monkey that two young twins, Hal & Bill (both played by Christian Convery) discover among their errant father’s possessions. But when they do turn the key and the monkey ominously brings down its drumstick on the drum, random people die in rather hilariously horrible ways.
Director Osgood Perkins (Longlegs) uses the Stephen King short story this is based on as a springboard to tell a very different kind of horror tale. One infused with tragedy and grief and loss not to mention absent fathers, hateful brothers, and a malevolent toy that is difficult to get rid of. Hal chops it up with a cleaver and the brothers even toss it down a well, but, like a bad penny, it keeps reappearing.
Even 25 years later, Hal (an excellent Theo James) keeps a cool distance between himself and his son Petery (Colin O’Brien) for fear of the boy coming to harm from the diabolical toy. His brother Bill (Theo James) is also out for revenge on his brother, mistakenly thinking him responsible for their mother’s death. A tip- the monkey doesn’t take requests. Its kills are random- like life. But they are outrageously bizarre in a Final Destination, Rube Goldberg-like way.
The film is a free-wheeling, gleefully gruesome blast, but there are these undercurrents of genuine heartfelt sadness beneath the dark humor. Hal and Bill’s no-nonsense mother Lois (Tatiana Maslany) explains this to them- “Everyone dies,” but what you have to do then is just “dance.”
What monkey business is this? Strange brew.