What was this? Through trailers, James Wan as producer, a script based on a Stephen King short story and Osgood Perkins last film, Longlegs, I was just expecting a generic textbook horror flick to have a good time on weekend. But, no. This was such a funny, unapologetically ridiculous and with very bizarre images.
Theo James plays two twin brothers: Hal, a not present father that is dealing the last days he would have with his son (Colin O'Brien) who is going to be adopted by Frodo Baggins in a tracksuit (Elijah Wood), and Bill, a manchild who hates Hal for having lost her mother (Tatiana Maslany) at the hands of a demonic monkey toy when they were kids. Also, there is Adam Scott in a prologue, that sets the tone of the film, playing these twins' not present father figure (because Marvel actors with bad projects are welcomed in this project). The thing is that this drummer monkey toy, when the key in its back is turned, becomes a ticking clock where is just a matter of time before he kills someone, and Bill is hoping to weaponize this against Hal.
The main problem is on its structure. It is weird. Like it kind of wants to follow the scheme of any other horror movie, but then it puts it on his head and now breaks every narrative rule. Like, it starts with a scene to present the threat, tone and it is pretty funny to watch, working perfectly on this manner, but then it never comes to play anything later. It is like a set-up without any pay-of, there are some references about who was this guy, but it is not really important nor transcendent. But then, the first half of the movie is with the protagonists (played by the same actor) as kids, and the second one is with them as adults, killing every momentum, having to restart the narrative in the middle of the movie, and making it feel like a three story anthology about a killer monkey toy haunting three generations of the same family. It never quite gets to the point of being a single constructed story with a dignifying conclusion, but it is a three short cool stories compendium.
Outside from that, it is really well made and achieved. The tone is very exaggerated and almost parodic, but the characterization and character relationships work through that with funny, yet emotional interactions. Each one of these stories do a solid job within themselves, well structured, with good set-ups and getting increasingly more over-the-top.
What is more surprising is the tone. There is still some gore, a reddish color correction that remarks the very textbook contrasting lightning and tense scenes with oppressive shots, but it is done in a humorous way. When people here receives a shot or are electrocuted is in an explosion where the only thing that is left of them is a leg, or a guy got his guts all through the room like opening scene from Bardo: Falsa Crónica de unas Cuantas Verdades. Almost all interactions, even the loving ones, are through sarcastic and ironic dialogues, but filmed in a serious manner. Even the VFX shots, like a lightning over a puddle or a plane crashing in a ruined city are just badly superposed in front of the shot like done in the fakest and low-budgetty way possible.
It is a weird experience. Is not a conventional horror feature length narrative, but once you get what it is doing is pretty enjoyable. It has moments and visuals pretty reminiscent of Perkins earlier movie, which was amazing by the way, but are done and presented in a B-serie, over-the-top ridicouleness kind of way. It is a very unique thing, fresh but recognizable, funny but emotional, terrorific but not-pretentions-nor-serious-taking. Is just a stupid idea done in a well achieved way that makes you afraid of a toy (with Disney's copyright): The Monkey.
Read my review on September 5 here: https://onceuponatimethemovies.blogspot.com/
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