The horror scene in 2024 was dominated by Longlegs. Osgood Perkins’ occultist shocker became an instant genre classic – not just for its ‘Silence Of
The horror scene in 2024 was dominated by Longlegs. Osgood Perkins’ occultist shocker became an instant genre classic – not just for its ‘Silence Of The Lambs goes to hell’ vibe, or that Nicolas Cage performance. It was also full of surprises, narrative and tonally, taking audiences on a wild ride. And with his imminent fresh film, Perkins is ready to take fans by surprise all over again. The Monkey – a loose Stephen King adaptation – is an absurdist tale of death-by-toy-ape, one that aims to take the undercurrent of obscure humour in Longlegs and bring it to the fore. Oh, and it’s going to be seriously gory.
“If you’re going for comedy then you’re going for extremes. Not subtlety,” Perkins tells Empire of where he’s landed with The Monkey. “We are guilty of putting far more blood in our human bodies than is really in a human body. When someone explodes in this movie — and a couple of people do — there’s a lot of mess.” Ah yes, the mess. Because The Monkey – like all good comedies – is all about the absurdity, the pointlessness, the randomness of death, the film looking to deal out the darkest fates with an almost cartoonish abandon. “All the death set-pieces were hard to do,” Perkins says. “They all have a Rube Goldbergian connectivity — this happens, then this happens, then this happens…”
The result might not be exactly what audiences are expecting after Longlegs. But that’s exactly what Perkins was aiming for. “I honestly feel fucking great about [how different The Monkey is from Longlegs],” he explains. “I can’t think of another morbidly surreal horror comedy that’s also heartwarming and redemptive and stars a bona-fide movie hunk. That’s the best news I can offer to people who liked Longlegs — we make all kinds. Why would anyone want to be fed the same meal every day?” Dinner’s up, gore-heads.
Read Empire’s full feature on The Monkey – getting the full story on Osgood Perkins’ wild follow-up to Longlegs – in the 28 Years Later issue, on sale Thursday 16 January. Pre-order a copy online here. The Monkey comes to UK cinemas from 21 February.
COMMENTS