? From the terrifying mind of Stephen King, director Oz Perkins returns to cinema with The Monkey — a blend of horror, dark comedy, and gratuitous violence adapted from a short story of the same name, about a cursed toy monkey that brings misfortune to whoever possesses it.

Where it all began: Twin brothers Hal and Bill (Christian Convery as a child and Theo James as an adult) accidentally discover among the possessions of their mysteriously disappeared father a strange toy monkey with an attached drum, ready to strike. As the brothers inspect it, they find that it is possessed by an evil spirit that instantly kills anyone it chooses.

After the controversial Longlegs, Perkins’ new horror falls short of its predecessor despite its promising potential. Instead of Longlegs ’ expertly crafted dread, the focus of The Monkey seemed to be filming as many bloody scenes as possible, and coming up with increasingly inventive ways to be killed — at the expense of the story’s emotional dimension. Nevertheless, the cast — especially James and the young Convery — do their best to compensate for the film’s shortcomings by fleshing out their character and focusing on the central dilemma: “Death is inevitable, so why does it still take us by surprise?” This concept comes to a head in the final scene, an uncharacteristically good ending for the horror genre.

Disclaimer: The film contains graphic scenes of violence and gore, which may not be suitable for some age groups.

WHERE TO WATCH- The Monkey is in theaters in VOX Cinemas at City Center Almaza and Mall of Egypt, Citystars, Scene Cinemas at Cairo Festival City and District 5, Zawya Cinema, and Cima Arkan. You can find the trailer on YouTube (watch, runtime: 2:12).

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