Review: The Monkey

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Official synopsis: When twin brothers Bill and Hal (Theo James) find their father's old monkey toy, a series of gruesome deaths start. The siblings decide to throw the toy away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years.

I love a good horror comedy. Ridiculously over the top gore that barely make physical sense? Yes. I'm here for it. Give me that campy garbage. Needless to say, I had high expectations for The Monkey. I'm ready to laugh at dumb things.

The thing with horror comedy though, crowds matter and hopefully you're watching with one that is laughing at everything as hard as you are. The wrong crowd can kill the vibe, and that's unfortunately what I got stuck with. Some folks wouldn't stop talking, others kept looking at their phones. Nearly every big moment didn't "hit" right because these idiots were too distracted with other things, and therefore killing the fun for everyone else. 

It's a shame because there are pretty funny moments in The Monkey. It's exactly as over the top as you would think. The script definitely has some weak points, and the dialogue is kind of awful, especially when it comes to Bill's character, but under better circumstances. I think this movie could be a lot of fun. 

It's still worth checking out, but maybe with a group of friends who know not to talk during a movie at home instead of a theater.

Grade: C+


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