Longlegs director Osgood Perkins triumphs again with an eerie, emotionally profound tale of a malevolent wind-up toy

Writer-director Osgood Perkins made one of the 21st century’s best horror films last year, and now he’s made another. But even if Longlegs’ intensely creepy atmosphere was too much, don’t be tempted to dodge The Monkey. This little guy has a whole new set of tricks to amuse and astound.

Theo James (The White Lotus) stars in the dual role of Hal and Bill Shelburn, twin brothers whose traumatic family inheritance comes – and keeps coming – in the form of a wind-up, drum-banging monkey that once belonged to their absentee father. The malevolent toy is a familiar horror trope, specifically derived in this instance from a 1980 short story by Stephen King, then lovingly embellished with eccentric comic details. There’s a too-long fringe, an absurdly oversized water bottle and a 50s rock’n’roll soundtrack, though none of these at all ease the terrific tension that – literally and audibly – ratchets up every time the Monkey’s key is turned. You know someone’s gruesome demise is imminent, but you’ll never guess who or how.

In UK and Irish cinemas