The Monkey (2025)

THE MONKEY (2025)

Directed By: Osgood Perkins

Starring: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Adam Scott, Elijah Wood, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Osgood Perkins

Genre - Horror/Comedy/Supernatural

Running Time - 98 Minutes

Plot:

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

Review:

Building upon the success he had with last year’s horror hit LONGLEGS, Osgood Perkins joins James Wan and Stephen King with adapting King’s short story, THE MONKEY. While LONGLEGS was meant to unsettle its audience with a supernatural true crime vibe [as well as an out-there performance by Nicolas Cage], THE MONKEY takes the opposite approach by making a dark joke out of its premise for laughs. The film’s dark humor approach towards the film’s death scenes and overall look on the idea of grief and moving on from trauma will most likely divide moviegoers expecting something more serious in its commentary. 

Personally, I had a lot of fun with THE MONKEY. While not as clever or sophisticated, the film reminded me of the FINAL DESTINATION series with its bizarre set ups to the demises of the movie’s characters. The use of a cursed toy monkey causing all this unpredictable chaos is a neat idea, although I would have liked to know more about its origins and why it was so intent on hurting people while growing attached to others. Maybe that’s in the short story, I don’t know.

The humor comes from the characters, who are extremely quirky and pretty much say whatever is on their minds without holding much back. Death is almost treated as a matter-of-fact joke that’s so messed up, you have to laugh about it. No one really takes any of the characters dying all that seriously. Hell, even a church pastor gives a sermon that feels more like a stand up routine than an actual eulogy. Even a montage of people dying within a week to unbelievable deaths is treated as something that normally occurs in this universe. While I’m sure many will not connect with any of this, I felt it made THE MONKEY an entertaining viewing experience. Considering how dark the world has been in 2025 so far, it was refreshing to smile and chuckle over the ridiculous ways people died and how others approached them. For a thin plot - it’s really just a toy monkey terrorizing twins over 25 years - it carries some important themes pretty well.

Osgood Perkins’ direction continues to impress. Great pacing and editing, the quirky tone maintains throughout, and the death sequences hit. THE MONKEY is a lot gorier than I was expecting it to be, considering Stephen King adaptations aren’t known for being gory horror movies. The use of both practical and CGI effects are used very well. And I liked that the film looked kind of grungy, yet popping with vivid colors [mainly red] for a lot of the film’s short runtime. His direction for LONGLEGS is probably stronger overall, but Perkins shows that he can be visually playful in terms of sound design and striking edits. It feels like a long episode of Tales From the Crypt and I enjoy that vibe.

The cast is also very good. Theo James has a great voice for narration, while also giving two different performances as twin brothers [one nerdy and the other more of a bully]. I thought he played both the introvert and insecure brother, as well as the more evil and deranged brother very well. Christian Convery plays his younger versions believably well also. I also felt that James shared nice big brother/father chemistry with the more grounded Colin O’Brien.

Always nice to see some familiar faces as well. This includes a wonderful performance from Tatiana Maslany as James’ quirky mother, as well from an almost unrecognizable Rohan Campbell as a young man who takes drastic measures to get his hands on the toy monkey. Also enjoyed the cameos by Adam Scott, Elijah Wood and Oz Perkins himself. Everyone seemed to be playing against type and having fun with it.

It’s bananas how my two favorite films so far in 2025 involve apes [I see you, Robbie Williams and BETTER MAN]. Looking forward to what Perkins brings us with KEEPER later this year.

SCORE

3 Howls Outta 4

(8 out of 10)

Def By Temptation (1990) w/ The DTV Connoisseur

In this episode, I joined Matt Poirier as we look at the Troma cult classic, DEF BY TEMPTATION. Before that, we look at CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD [which has now been released in theaters] and what 2025 could look like for Marvel Studios. Then with the film, we get into how we each found this gem, what about it works so well, and then look at highlights.

Heart Eyes (2025)

DIRECTED BY

Josh Ruben

STARRING

Olivia Holt - Ally 

Mason Gooding - Jay Simmons 

Gigi Zumbado - Monica

Devon Sawa - Detective Hobbs

Jordana Brewster - Detective Jeanette Shaw

Michaela Watkins - Crystal 

Genre - Horror/Slasher/Comedy/Romance

Running Time - 97 Minutes 

PLOT

When the “Heart Eyes Killer” strikes Seattle, a pair of co-workers pulling overtime on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the elusive couple-hunting killer. Now, they must spend the most romantic night of the year running for their lives.

REVIEW

Slasher films about Valentine’s Day have always seemed like a fun and good combination for decades. 1981’s MY BLOODY VALENTINE pretty much started the trend, featuring a memorable killer in Harry Warden in his coal miner’s outfit and pick-axe. It was even brought back in the 2009 3-D remake to similar success. We’ve also had 2001’s VALENTINE with its cherub looking Cupid killer, as well as Hulu’s Into the Dark anthology series that featured two horrific Valentine’s tales to varied success.

It should be no surprise that 2025’s HEART EYES successfully brings both horror and Valentine’s Day together in a fun way. The film would totally fit right in the late-90s/early-00s post-SCREAM nu-slasher revival, while also working as a spoof or satire on romantic comedies with all the tropes and cheese firmly in place. The simple premise pretty much involves the hulking Heart Eyes Killer [or HEK for short] traveling to a different city each year to murder happy couples for reasons unknown to only him or her. HEK arrives in Seattle, only to catch main protagonists Ally and Jay fake a kiss in front of Ally’s ex-boyfriend out of jealousy and mistakenly making them targets for the killer. Romantic tropes, slasher goodness and on-the-nose needle drops ensue.

HEART EYES doesn’t bring anything new to the slasher table, pretty much bringing what MY BLOODY VALENTINE had kind of done for a modern audience. But the film does these old tricks very well, giving you exactly what you would want in a modern slasher. Besides a lack of nudity, the film doesn’t really shy from the violence. While nowhere as gory as something like TERRIFIER, there are some nice gooey death sequences in HEART EYES. People get impaled and slashed by daggers. A victim gets crushed while hiding inside a wine juicer. There’s also crossbow action, as well as a sick looking decapitation that earns the film’s R rating. I thought the effects were handled very well.

Unlike other Valentine’s Day horror, HEART EYES also acts as a sweet rom-com that makes you root for the two leads to get together at the end if they manage to survive the night. Ally and Jay love the same type of coffee, bump heads [literally] at the same time, work in the same profession and manage to understand each other even if Ally [who is still not over a bad breakup] tries to sabotage any chance for love. And when they come together to survive HEK’s rampage, you watch their bond grow and it feels satisfying to watch them fall in love. That’s due to a smart and strong script that fleshes out these two characters, making them very likable and understandable when it comes to their individual perspectives. Add in a supportive and sassy best friend and a sarcastic police department and you have characters you care to watch for 97 minutes.

If I did have a main gripe, it’s probably HEK’s reveal in the final act. I partially got it right, but the entire reveal felt like the writers [mainly HAPPY DEATH DAY’s Christopher Landon] just wanted to be wacky and make up something to shock and surprise people. No one would guess the entire thing correctly since a lot of it was never hinted at or established like in other slasher mysteries, making it seem like an idea that was thrown at the wall to see what would stick. I appreciate how progressive and modern the reveal is and I thought the action during the conclusion was quite good. But the reveal itself didn’t connect with me because it came out of thin air.

The direction by Josh Ruben is energetic and well thought out in terms of set pieces and sound design. The film is never scary and not meant to be, but the romantic comedy aspects are solid and the tone maintains throughout. The Heart Eyes Killer is used very well, having some creepy moments from time to time. I thought their mask having night vision through the heart eyes was a neat touch that I wish more was done with. The death sequences and gore were shot really well. It’s not the most dynamic or memorable film visually, but Ruben did a very good job keeping it all together and maintaining a fun tone that I’ve seen a lot of other filmmakers have trouble with. Maybe it feels too much like the current SCREAM films, but it’s still well made.

What really won me over is the acting. I think both Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding are wonderful as the two leads, Ally and Jay. Holt is adorable, has nice comedic timing, and makes her a cool Final Girl who takes charge when she needs to. Gooding, no stranger to slashers due to his association with the current SCREAM sequels, is extremely charming and funny as hell in terms of his facial expressions and line delivery. Honestly, I think Gooding would make a fantastic romantic lead for a rom-com because he has all the tools to pull it off effortlessly. I also enjoyed the supporting performances by Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster, playing two very different detectives on the HEK case. With Sawa’s bad-cop named Hobbs and Brewster’s more good-cop named Shaw, that obvious joke does present itself - with Brewster’s no-selling of it making it even funnier. And special mention to Gigi Zumbado as Monica, Ally’s best friend. She’s not in the film as much as I would want her to be, but Zumbado makes every scene she’s in funny and memorable. 

Also, a big shout out on the soundtrack. With songs like “Lonestar” by Amazed, “Please Don’t Go” by KC & the Sunshine Band and “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes, this film has a solid song list.

THE FINAL HOWL

HEART EYES doesn’t reinvent the slasher wheel, but it’s still a fun time for those looking for a good Valentine’s Day horror film to watch. It also surprisingly works as a cute rom-com, just with a serial killer murdering happy couples [whether they know they’re in one or not]. The story is simple and straightforward, yet clever with an obvious wink-and-nod at certain tropes for both horror and rom-com genres. The script also presents likable characters, including two main characters you can’t help but root for in getting together by the movie’s end. This is helped greatly by the charming performances by both Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding, who share a ton of chemistry and play off each other extremely well. Josh Ruben also handles the gory sequences nicely, while maintaining a consistent tone that balances the horror with the romance. While the reveal itself didn’t exactly excite me or win me over and the film has this SCREAM feel you can’t escape, I think HEART EYES is a worthy watch during Valentine’s Day week for any horror [or even rom-com] fan.

SCORE

3 Howls Outta 4

(7 out of 10)