A horror movie about a possessed toy monkey, I’m in! Two young kids, Hal and his twin brother Bill, are curious about their estranged father and the things he left behind in their closet. He was a pilot, it’s a trove of travel trinkets they hope will fill in the gaps. This is where they find a mechanical toy monkey. You know the kind, plays a tune, this one with a drum. It’s quite fancy though. Large, comes in a presentation box. Wind the key. Monkey drums. People die. Hilariously. Oh yeah, this is a comedy. A darkly entertaining comedy. It’s full of blood splattering fun, with little regard for any explanation of the monkeys origin. Bill doesn’t see the danger at first, he’s busy bullying Hal, but Hal… he senses there’s something to their new furry friend. Especially when they lose their mum and babysitter in a quick succession of freak accidents. They can’t lose the monkey though, although they give it a good go and get through the rest of childhood unscathed. But 25 years later, the monkey strikes again and Hal (Theo James) is drawn back into a world of inventively slapstick splatter horror. He’s got a kid now, Petey (Colin O’Brien), but he’s estranged too, fearing dragging his son into the family curse. All the relationships are unconventional, borderline inappropriate, delightfully awkward. James does brilliantly as the twin brothers, both the well meaning Hall and the unhinged Bill. On the surface it’s dumb fun, but it does have heart and genuine menace. It’s not super scary though and I can see why some horror fans might think it’s too tame, but it’s well balanced. Simple, but well paced with a quirky abruptness right to the end.
6/10
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