SPOILER WARNING: The following gives away some crucial details from the plot of The Monkey, so if you have not seen the new horror movie yet and still decide you want to turn the key and read on, proceed with caution.
After seeing The Monkey, I finally understand why I have been disappointed with writer and director Osgood Perkins’ more earnest thrillers that I have seen – namely Longlegs (which I found underwhelming), and the frankly boring I am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. I think the man was clearly destined to make horror-comedy movies because he pretty much nails the absurdly macabre tone of his new Stephen King movie based on a short story about a wind-up toy with mysteriously deadly abilities.
That being said, despite its gloriously gory death scenes and brutally dark sense of humor, The Monkey is not quite my favorite movie released in 2025 so far, nor is it the best horror movie I have seen this year. The main drawback for me is admittedly a weird one and actually has something to do with the film’s star, Theo James. Before any fans of the former Divergent cast member aspire to turn The Monkey’s key with me in mind, allow me to explain.
Theo James Is Too Handsome To Play Hal
I agree with CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg, who says in his review of The Monkey that Theo James gives a great performance as the tormented central character, Hal Shelburn, portraying the awkwardly sheepish and tormented soul in a brazenly comical manner. However, am I the only one who believes the English actor is just a little too good-looking for the part?
Hal, serving as the story’s narrator, describes himself as a friendless, pathetic dweeb, essentially, which I realize is clearly the result of his traumatic childhood having had a magically murderous toy monkey in the house. Yet, in my opinion, James’ classic leading man looks do not lend well to that established persona, and just putting glasses on him is not the most convincing way of fixing that.
However, He Is A Good Fit For Bill
Theo James also stars in The Monkey as Hal’s twin, Bill, who blames his brother for causing the death of their mother (played by Tatiana Maslany) and seeks to exact his revenge by finding the lost monkey toy. Quite frankly, I believe that the actor gives the stronger performance as the evil sibling, and I would actually give some of the credit for that to his physical appearance.
That may sound paradoxical since the characters are intentionally identical to one another. However, James’ leading man looks are somehow a better match for the deeply disturbed and wildly unhinged character’s more intimidating aura, which also serves as a more effective way to tell the brothers apart than giving one of them glasses to wear.
Overall, Christian Convery Is The Real MVP
For all of the strengths in Theo James’ performances as Hal and Bill, for me, the better portrayal of both characters comes from Christian Convery playing the twins as teens. The 15-year-old actor, who is becoming a bit of a horror movie icon in the making with his roles in The Monkey and 2023’s Cocaine Bear, is the first person we see playing the siblings in a 1999-set flashback that makes up nearly the entire first act. Quite frankly, I would not have minded if the whole movie was set during their childhood.
The star of Netflix’s DC Comics-based TV show Sweet Tooth might not have even needed to wear glasses when playing the meek Hal with the way he expertly balances the role with the cruel and mischievous Bill. Not to mention, unlike James, I not only believe Convery’s natural look is a good match for each twin’s vastly different persona but that his dual performances are equally perfect.
Despite my slight reservations about Theo James as Hal, his surprisingly funny performance as both him and Bill in The Monkey did help earn him more respect from me as an actor with more versatility than I anticipated when I first saw him in the Divergent movies. Perhaps I will steam The Gentlemen on Netflix or check out his Emmy-nominated turn in The White Lotus Season 2. Plus, I certainly would not mind watching The Monkey again when it becomes available for home viewing.
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