The Monkey, a “twisted” horror movie that’s “total mayhem from the very beginning”, has just been added to Prime Video in the UK and Ireland.
Starring Theo James in a dual role as twin brothers Hal and Bill, the horror film sees the brothers reunite to vanquish a cursed toy monkey that has haunted them since childhood.
From Longlegs director Osgood Perkins and based on a Stephen King short story, The Monkey sees the titular toy return after 25 years to begin killing people again in inventive and gruesome ways.
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“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,” reads the synopsis.
Released earlier this year, The Monkey is now available on Prime Video with a subscription, meaning horror fans in the UK and Ireland can stream the film just months after its cinematic release.
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Following its release, the horror film received a generally positive response from critics and currently has a score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes from 292 reviews.
The Wrap called The Monkey “a sick and twisted work of comic genius where the punchlines punch so hard you’ll explode”.
“It’s total mayhem from the very beginning and there’s an art in finding new ways to one-up outrageous kills in a horror movie,” penned Arizona Republic.
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Some critics compared the film to Final Destination, with AV Club writing: “Part Gremlins and part Final Destination, it’s a vicious little horror-comedy whose punchline is that we’re all walking around with our heads in an invisible guillotine whose blade could fall at any moment.”
Rolling Stone wrote: “Final Destination feels like it’s as much an inspiration as King’s source material, yet Perkins deserves credit for how deftly he milks his own brand of gallows humor and existential handwringing in the name of poking your gag reflex.”
The Monkey is available to stream now on Prime Video in the UK and Ireland.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.