As noted here before, Stephen King adaptations are hit or miss, despite how good his books are. His short story collection, Skeleton Crew, out in a fortieth (!) anniversary edition, contains three stories that have been made into movies: The Mist, done by Frank Darabont, a strong showing with an even more brutal ending than the story; and The Raft, the best and grossest part of Creepshow 2. And now comes the third, The Monkey, by Oz Perkins, in an absolute departure from that director's usual oeuvre.
Here's what the movie has in common with the short story: brothers Hal and Bill; and a toy monkey that is a harbinger/brings about death, including orphaning the brothers. What's different? Pretty much everything else, from the monkey having a drum (instead of cymbals), to Bill being a huge asshole and Hal hating him, to Hal's son Petey being a complete dickhead, to the sheer number of deaths, to how they end up getting rid of the monkey.
This is not the worst SK adaptation but it doesn't rank up there with the better ones. Perkins has made a gleefully mean-spirited little flick, clearly relishing the opportunity to not be as moody as his prior movies. There is a nice callback via naming the brothers' babysitter Annie Wilkes. Some of the kills are clever and funny (lawnmower, tea kettle, snake, vape, wasps and an excellent schoolbus situation). The Monkey isn't scary and while there are funny bits, it isn't a horror-comedy - the tone just seems a little uneven. Nice mix of actors: Theo James, Adam Scott, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood and Oz Perkins himself as "Uncle Chip."
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