yet Long legs Proved a huge hit for director Osgood Perkins, his upcoming Stephen King Adaptation The monkey It looks like it will take the director in a shocking, and promising, new direction. Now that the dust has settled on the sleeper hit success of Long legsIt’s fair to say that director Osgood Perkins doesn’t have the hallmarks of a blockbuster helmer. Perkins’ three previous movies, The Black Daughter, I am the beautiful thing that lives in this houseAnd Gretel and Hansel are punishingly bleak horror movies that earned these Long legs A terrible director Rotten tomatoes Average.
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Not only were Perkins’ earlier efforts anathema to mainstream viewers, they weren’t even that popular with critics. Even reviewers called out Perkins’ movies for their opaque plots and plodding pacing, which made the critical and commercial success of Long legs A welcome knock. Not only was Long legs‘ Twist ends up being one of the scariest horror moments of 2024, but the movie earned a staggering $108 million at the box office on a budget of under $10 million. Meanwhile, Long legs Perkins also has the most unambiguously positive reviews of his career, with a superb Rotten tomatoes Critical score of 85%.
Longlegs director Osgood Perkins’ monkey looks surprisingly comedic
The Stephen King short story adaptation leans into dark comedy
Now, the upcoming Stephen King adaptation by Osgood Perkins The monkey It looks like the director will try something completely different. The first red-band trailer for The monkey was released by NEON in October 2024, and the King adaptation seems to be far from the sad tone of the author’s original story. From a cop that a bloody crime scene looks like “Spaghetti City“To a knife-wielding incident in a sushi restaurant to the hero holding a severed, still-painted fingertip, The monkey‘s tone looks shockingly comical and cartoonish compared to Perkins’ earlier horror movies And the king story it is based on.
Osgood Perkins’ monkey looks more exciting and unpredictable thanks to the wonky, surreally comic tone.
There’s even a particularly goofy moment where Theo James’ panicked protagonist Hal/Bill sees blue sparks of electricity traveling through a puddle toward a swimming pool a woman is diving into, a gag that could have come straight out of a Tex Avery cartoon. It’s a far cry from I am the beautiful thing that lives in this houseOne of the most severe horror movies of the 2010s, or the brutally lost The Black Daughter. Osgood Perkins The monkey Looks all the more exciting and unpredictable thanks to the wonky, surreally comic tone, which Long legs Subtly hinted at.
The monkey director Osgood Perkins is overdue a horror comedy
Longlegs has moments of unexpected deadpan humor
From Lee Harker’s painful lack of social graces to the eponymous killer’s wild display in a hardware store, Long legs Can be surprisingly funny at times. The humor is all reliably deadpan since the movie remains a supernatural serial killer thriller, but Long legs is not without humor. This is notable precisely because Perkins’ earlier efforts were, with even the fairy tale retailing Gretel and Hansel Being completely lacking in any lightness. Perkins’ upcoming Stephen King Movie The monkey Will see the director flex largely unfamiliar muscles with this foray into dark comedy, however Long legs‘s darkly comic moments prove that this adaptation could be a fun ride.
Source: Rotten tomatoes