Comedian, artist and media entrepreneur Kareem Rahma will be back in the Twin Cities for the screening of his film “Or Something” at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival this week.

Rahma, an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and former employee of the Minnesota Daily, is well-known for his viral transportation-based social media talk shows “Keep the Meter Running” and “Subway Takes.” Although he says he believes the future of entertainment is short-form vertical video, Rahma and his collaborator Mary Neely wrote, produced and starred in his feature film debut, “Or Something,” released last year. 

In anticipation of his film’s first screening in the Midwest, the Minnesota Daily had the pleasure of interviewing Rahma over Zoom last week as he walked to buy nicotine at a pharmacy.

Minnesota Daily: Tell me about “Or Something.”

Rahma: “‘Or Something’ is a feature film that I co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in alongside Mary Neely, and it’s really kind of like what I would call a classic New York walk and talk mumblecore film about two strangers who are forced to spend the day together and just essentially open up to each other in a way that I find, personally, only strangers can really open up to one another. There’s a weird kind of phenomenon I think that happens when you open up to a stranger because you know that there’s not going to be real judgment, and you can kind of develop a really powerful and intense relationship over the course of a really short period of time. And I found that’s happened to me many times in my life. I call them single-serving friendships, and then I never see that person again. But yeah, it’s kind of just like a movie that explores the dynamic between a platonic relationship, maybe platonic, between a guy and a girl who met for the first time and just get into some really deep conversation subject matter, like religion, politics, sex, dating, kind of the entire millennial condition, if one may call it that.”

Daily: What made you want to write this?

Rahma: “Some of my favorite films are these kinds of films that are just like two people talking. I feel like it’s a lost genre. There’s this film called ‘My Dinner With Andre.’ There’s this film called ‘Before Sunrise.’ There’s just, like, a number of other films where the whole point was just to essentially be a fly on the wall and watch two people talk things out. And that used to be one of my favorite genres, and I just feel like there aren’t a lot of those being made anymore. So from a creative standpoint, that was one of the reasons. Then from a producer standpoint, it’s just like an easier movie to make than, let’s say, a road trip movie, or like an action film. So it was written with the intention of being shot, and that’s kind of like, where I was finding myself. I didn’t want to wait around to sell the script or to wait for someone to make the movie. So when me and Mary started talking, we were like, ‘Let’s write a movie that we can make no matter what.’ So it was those two things, it was like, from a producing standpoint, it was like an easy to make film, and from a kind of a vibes perspective, it just like the kind of movie that I like to watch.”

Daily: What was it like coming up with these two characters for the movie, since so much of it is focused on them?

Rahma: “Well, so much of the characters are based on myself and Mary in real life. The way that we wrote the script was really cool and interesting. We would essentially meet up once a month and pretty much have an argument about something, and then we would just transcribe that conversation we were having. Her and I just have really different opposing views on a lot of things, but not in an ‘I’m going to kill you. I hate you,’ sort of way, but more in a ‘I find your position wrong, but I’m not mad about it.’ And so we found ourselves arguing about all these things, and decided to just, you know, every time we sat down to argue, we would say, ‘Cool, this is like the next five pages of dialogue.’”

Daily: Did you two argue intentionally, or were you just talking and it just always ended up as an argument?

Rahma: “We were just talking and almost always ended up as an argument. I wouldn’t say it was always, there were a couple of times where we were like, ‘Yeah, I could see that.’ But really that was the point of the film. I feel like there’s been such a moment in time where the art of conversation has disappeared, and that is one of my favorite things to do as a hobby. Like, for me, if you were like, ‘What do you want to do tonight?’ I would say I would love to go to dinner with three or four really interesting people. And literally have an argument for four hours, that’s my hobby. I love it. And everyone hugs and kisses on the way out and says, ‘I’ll see you for the next one.’ And I just feel like there’s like a lost art of conversation that really is kind of like, the genre of movie, it’s going away. Nobody wants to sit down and just have a fun chat. You know what? I mean, it’s like, I’m not even trying to get my point across, most of the time. I’m just trying to entertain myself. And I just think that, to me, those are the greatest nights of my life, if I have an amazing dinner with a close friend and two strangers, to me, that’s a huge win.”

Daily: Let’s talk “Subway Takes,” what made you want to start that?

Rahma: “It was just an idea that I had that I thought was cool. I had another successful show before called ‘Keep The Meter Running,’ where I jump into cabs and tell the driver to take me to their favorite place. And that show was really fun. I had a blast doing it, and I still do that. I just published an episode yesterday, actually, with Zohran Mamdani, who’s the current frontrunner for mayor in New York City behind Andrew Cuomo, at least. ‘Subway Takes’ just seemed like a really good idea, and I wanted to do something that was as impactful as ‘Keep the Meter Running,’ in terms of reach and virality, but didn’t cost as much money. Because for ‘Keep the Meter Running,’ I was spending like, $2,000 every time I did an episode because I was paying for the food, I was paying for the meter, paying my crew, it’s just really expensive. But I really like making short form digital. ‘Subway Takes’ came out of this idea that, I think the future of entertainment is vertical, unscripted short form video. But what is a way for me to do this more frequently and for less money? Because obviously, I couldn’t afford to spend $2,000 every time I want to shoot something.”

Daily: Do you jump the turnstile or pay your fare when you shoot “Subway Takes?”

Rahma: “On the record?”

Daily: Yes, on the record.

Rahma: “I jump the turnstile.”

This interview has been edited for clarity, length and grammar.

Local hyperpop artist SYM1 will release a new video for her song “Right 1 4 Me” on April 4.

Released March 7, “Right 1 4 Me,” a collaboration with New York artist moistbreezy, is a fast-paced dance track full of spacey vocals and synthesizers with a hard-hitting beat and bassline straight out of a European rave. An homage to the mallrat culture of the late nineties and early aughts, the video was shot in the Southdale Center, one of the only places in the Twin Cities with a Dance Dance Revolution machine.

A vocalist, producer and performer SYM1 said her irreverent dance music comes from her fascination with internet culture and early online subcultures. She said hyperpop is a genre born out of message boards and chat rooms, blending dance and pop music with other genres like punk and rap.

“People have described my music as having a punk heart and a chronically online edge,” SYM1 said.

She said “Right 1 4 Me” was inspired by her love for Eurodance and her collaborator, moistbreezy.

Eurodance is a genre of dance music originating during the late ‘80s in European nightclubs, breaking through to American audiences with hits like “What is Love” by German-Trinidadian singer Haddaway, “Freed from Desire” by Italian singer Gala and “Sandstorm” by Finnish DJ Darude.

SYM1 said she discovered moistbreezy’s contemporary Eurodance music thanks to a recommendation from the Spotify algorithm. She reached out over social media and the two have been working together for almost five years.

The pair dance in a brightly-colored arcade in the upcoming music video, making the current-day Southdale Center look like the setting of a Eurodance video from the turn of the century.

On her first foray into Eurodance, SYM1 brings her internet popstar persona, effects-laden vocals and edgy synths onto a pumping house track straight out of a rhythm video game. The video for her new single drops April 4, and she expects to release new music later this spring.

Hamline University’s Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program and its literary journal, the Water~Stone Review, are in jeopardy after the outgoing interim administration announced a plan to sunset the program and cut funding for the journal. 

According to Creative Writing Program Director Richard Pelster-Wiebe, Interim Provost Andy Rundquist informed faculty that he intends to begin sunsetting the MFA program faculty and eliminate funding for the program coordinator and the Water~Stone Review, effective July 1. 

Both Rundquist and Interim President Kathleen Murray will be replaced by permanent leadership on July 1. A provost is the superior academic officer of a university, while a university’s president is the superior administrative officer.

Pelster-Wiebe said Rundquist did not consult the department before making his decision.

Meghan Maloney-Vinz has been Hamline’s creative writing program coordinator for over 18 years. The program director is in charge of the department’s academic affairs, while the program coordinator is in charge of administration and outreach.

“There’s a process that has to happen in order for a program to sunset,” Pelster-Wiebe said. “But even before that process could start, he effectively incapacitated our program, he effectively killed our programs.”

Many of the program’s 42 graduate students are adults with full-time careers, with some recently graduated and others recently retired, Pelster-Wiebe said. Unlike other MFA programs in the area, Hamline’s creative writing program offers exclusively night classes and does not have a graduation timeline, allowing students to continue their day jobs.

MFA student Kayla Knoll, a full-time nurse originally from North Dakota, said she chose to study at Hamline because it allowed her to keep pursuing her health care career.

“I can’t imagine what it’d be like writing if I didn’t have these real-life experiences and the ability to bring them,” Knoll said.

She said she juggles working and studying by taking a light course load each semester and plans to graduate in her own time. Now in the homestretch of her master’s degree, Knoll said she was shocked to hear her program could be cut.

“Even for leadership, it was a very siloed decision,” Knoll said.

Knoll started an online petition titled Save Hamline’s MFA program and the Water~Stone Review on March 12. She said it received over 700 signatures within the first day.

Today, the petition has over 1,500 signatures.

“We’ve been pleased by, surprised by and have welcomed the immense outpouring of love and support from the broader Twin Cities community and from the faculty and staff here at Hamline,” Pelster-Wiebe.

Pelster-Wiebe said the creative writing department refrained from petitioning support from incoming leadership, Provost Wesley Kisting and President Mayme Hostetter, out of respect for the current administration’s authority.

“We really hope that the current leadership will recognize, quite frankly, the absurdity of this enterprise and put a pause on it so that we can talk with incoming leadership about the future of the program and how to move forward,” Pelster-Wiebe said.

Hamline administration declined a request for comment.

World-renowned traditional Irish band Lúnasa performs at the Pantages Theatre on March 14. 

They are touring in support of their tenth album, “Live in Kyoto.” Flute and whistle player Kevin Crawford said it was recorded during a show in Japan where the band played a set of previously unreleased original compositions. 

Acclaimed for introducing the double bass to traditional Irish music, Lúnasa have been playing for 27 years. Thanks to their innovative approach, often incorporating elements from outside the storied tradition of Irish music, Lúnasa evolved the sound to keep traditional Irish music modern. 

“Irish music is a living tradition,” Crawford said. 

Kept alive by acts like Lúnasa, Irish traditional music has spread across the globe. Outside of Ireland, Japan has the fastest growing traditional Irish music scene in the world, Crawford said.

“They have fallen in love with Irish traditional music,” he said. “You feel like you’re The Beatles when you’re there.”

Lúnasa are not just big in Japan. Crawford said Lúnasa performed on a musical cruise in the Caribbean last winter. 

Despite the hospitality and adoration Lúnasa receives from their Japanese fans, Crawford said the U.S. is his favorite place to perform because they can play to both Irish and non-Irish audiences. He said while some people come to Lúnasa shows to celebrate their Irish heritage, many just come for the music. 

Crawford said the fans of bluegrass, blues and other acoustic styles are especially drawn to their music. Blues singers sometimes feature alongside Irish singers on the band’s vocal songs. 

When he is not touring the world with his woodwinds, Crawford said he often comes to Minnesota to work with musicians in the area. He said there is a strong community of traditional Irish music in the Twin Cities supported by groups like the Center For Irish Music in St. Paul. 

“Mickey 17,” a dark comedy sci-fi satire by acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho came out in theaters Friday and is funny, heartwarming and relatable. 

Based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel “Mickey7,” the film takes place on an icy space colony in a dystopian future. Robert Pattinson plays the protagonist, Mickey Barnes, who works as an “expendable” on the intergalactic expedition to colonize the fictional snow planet of Niflheim. 

After losing money on a macaron venture, Mickey and his friend Timo, played by Steven Yeun, become indebted to a sadistic loan shark who threatens to chase them to the ends of the earth. The pair decide to flee the planet and join an expedition to colonize another planet, led by flamboyant politician Kenneth Marshall, played by Mark Ruffalo. 

Mickey unwittingly signs up to become an expendable, undergoing a procedure to store his memories in a hard drive, so he can be cloned in a human printer every time he dies. As an expendable, Mickey is used for the most dangerous tasks on the expedition, risking his life to progress their journey and often losing it in the process. 

“Mickey 17” follows the story of the 17th Mickey clone, who is mistakenly presumed dead after falling in a ravine where he is rescued by the strange alien inhabitants of Niflheim, the creepers. Mickey 17 finds out a new clone has been printed and is living aboard the expedition’s ship.

Two clones co-existing is illegal and punishable by death, putting Mickey and his romantic partner Nasha, played by Naomi Ackie, at odds with Marshall. 

Despite its bizarre science fiction setting, “Mickey 17” is a relatable film, as funny as it is heartwarming. 

Joon-ho is no stranger to making socio-political commentary through science fiction metaphors, and the film is full of subtle and not-so-subtle critiques about class, colonialism and the media. 

Unlike Joon-ho’s other class-conscious sci-fi film set on a snowy planet, “Snowpiercer,” “Mickey 17” leans much harder into comedy. While some of the comedic beats fall flat, the film is full of funny moments thanks to the incredible performances from its supporting cast.

Ackie’s performance as Nasha is a highlight, portraying a grounded and rational character without sacrificing her keen sense of comedic timing. Ruffalo’s performance as Kenneth Marshall sets a tone for the film’s extravagant and weird comedy, and is an over-the-top impression of celebrity entertainers that is equal parts Jay Leno, Baby Billy and Donald Trump. 

Do not let its grandiose setting misguide you, “Mickey 17” is a surprisingly simple movie full of great acting and creative directing.

Alternative rocker and singer-songwriter Wilder Woods is performing material from his recently released third studio album, “CURIOSO,” at the Uptown Theater on March 7.

Wilder Woods is the solo project of Bear Rinehart, lead singer, guitarist and co-founder of Grammy-nominated rock band NEEDTOBREATHE. He said he started the Wilder Woods project to branch out from the kind of music he makes with the band, and his first thought when starting his solo career was, “How different can I be?”

“A band project is more of a democracy, which I love,” Rinehart said. “With a solo record, you can direct a little bit more.”

He said making music himself is fun, although he feels more vulnerable performing as a solo act.

“If people don’t like it, it’s me they don’t like,” Rinehart said.  

Through the Wilder Woods project, Rinehart said he can explore tempos and grooves outside of NEEDTOBREATHE’s sound. He described the sound of his previous album, “FEVER / SKY,” as a sort of “redneck neo-soul.”

On “CURIOSO,” Rinehart said he focused on creating music for live shows, emphasizing swinging rhythms and instrumental soundscapes on each track. He described it as a headphone record because of the intricacies and layers found in the production.

Each song on the album sounds different from the rest as Rinehart experiments with new sounds and styles on each track. He said he was greatly inspired by the music he listened to in the past. 

“It sounds like a playlist from the last 30 years of my life,” Rinehart said.

Rinehart said he was notably inspired by alternative rock from bands he heard on the radio as a high schooler in the ‘90s, like The Breeders and Spacehog. 

He proudly wears his love for alternative rock on his sleeve on tracks like “Hide Anymore,” my favorite off the record, which features a psychedelic dissonant guitar riff that would sound right at home in a Sonic Youth song.

As Wilder Woods, Rinehart might play with effects pedals and experiment with different rhythms, but his folksy, cowboy demeanor still shows on every track. His rugged vocal delivery brings a country-western flare to every track. 

Rolling Stone magazine said Rinehart found what he is looking for on “CURIOSO.” If Wilder Woods sounds like what you are looking for, you can find him performing at the Uptown Theater on Friday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available here.

“Smart Wars,” a “Star Wars” inspired art exhibit by the uniquely talented St. Paul artist Rory Wakemup will celebrate the exhibit’s opening at the All My Relations Arts gallery in the Native American Community Development Institute.

Wakemup’s work is inspired by pop culture and his Anishinaabe and Lakota heritage. He dubbed his philosophy as “funktavism,” a portmanteau of “fun” and “activism.” 

“Smart Wars” uses images of heroes and villains from “Star Wars” to symbolize Native identity and our relationships to the Earth and each other. “Smart Wars” features stormtroopers, snowtroopers, imperial guards and other characters in regalia adorned with various feathers, fringes, beads, bells and other accessories. 

Wakemup said pop culture references are prevalent in his work because he wants his art to reflect modern versions of Native identity. 

“While I am aware that there are many serious issues to combat, equality and respect for Indians will never be attained until we are recognized as living people in today’s society, and not relics in the same category as pillaging Vikings and pirate raiders,” Wakemup wrote on his website. 

One work features an alter-ego named Darth Chief, a black-and-silver version of Darth Vader whose helmet sports crown-like silver and red adornments, joined by two imperial guards on either side. Each guard wears red robes and shiny helmets, accented by black feathers on the helmets and the robes’ fringes. Laying in front of the three is a rendition of a presumably dead Chief Wahoo, the former mascot of the Cleveland Guardians, who was removed as an official mascot in 2018. 

“Like Anakin Skywalker used his hatred of the Dark Side to become a Sith Lord, I have used my hatred and fear of being a cliché to become the most outrageous cliché I can fathom,” Wakemup wrote on his website. “In my quest, I have taken my ‘Super Ego’ to the level of alter ego, ’Darth Chief, Mascot Hunter.’”

Wakemup said he uses the Darth Chief alter ego in his art to satirize famous icons and idols in popular culture. 

The alter ego is a unique self-insert into his own artwork, blending the themes of righteous activism in his art with the grandiose and surreal villainy associated with the Darth Vader character. That juxtaposition seems purposeful, as Wakemup welcomes viewers to challenge their preconceptions about identity and culture. 

“So please, before you try to defend the mascots my alter ego defiles, do your homework,” his website states. 

“Smart Wars” is on view at the All My Relations Arts gallery at the Native American Community Development Institute until April 5. 

This year’s Oscar winners will be announced live at the 97th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday night. 

Conan O’Brien will be hosting this year’s ceremony, which will include live musical performances by Doja Cat, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Queen Latifah, RAYE and LISA of Blackpink.  

“Anora,” directed by Sean Baker, is the favorite to win Best Picture at this year’s awards, according to Oscar odds expert and Hollywood Reporter writer Ben Zauzmer. The film is about the troubled relationship of an exotic dancer who getsbecomes engaged to the wealthy son of a shady Russian oligarch and their troubled relationship.

Zauzmer also picked “Anora’s” director Sean Baker to win Best Director and Mikey Madison, who plays Anora, to win Best Actress. Neither Madison nor Baker, also director of “The Florida Project,” have been nominated before. 

“Conclave,” a thriller about papal politics, is competing with “Anora” for Best Picture. “Conclave” was also nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Production Design and Best Adapted Screenplay. 

Englishman Ralph Fiennes received a Best Actor nomination for his role as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence and his Italian costar Isabella Rossellini received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role as Sister Agnes. 

“A Complete Unknown,” another nominee for Best Picture, received nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Directing, Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay. 

Fresh off a visit to Minneapolis where he was hunted by fans at the University of Minnesota, Timothée Chalamet is up for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance of native Minnesotan Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” This is his first nomination since 2018 for his role as Elio in “Call Me by Your Name.” 

Adrien Brody is competing with Chalamet for Best Actor. Brody was nominated for his role as Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor László Tóth in “The Brutalist.” 

Monica Barbaro got a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her portrayal of Joan Baez, and “The Incredible Hulk” star Edward Norton got a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Pete Seeger. 

“The Brutalist” also received nominations for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Original Score and Best Production Design. Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones received Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress nominations for their roles in the film. 

 “Emilia Pérez,” the controversial Spanish-language, French musical about a cartel leader who attempts to transition to a woman and disappear, received more nominations than any other film with 13 total nominations. It received nominations for both Best Picture and Best International Feature Film.

Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the titular character, made history as the first transgender woman to be nominated for Best Actress, but has recently caome under fire after it was uncovered that she had made several racist and islamophobic tweets in the past. In November, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said “Emilia Pérez” is not good trans representation, compiling remarks from several queer critics who said the film exploited and parodied the trans experience. 

“I’m Still Here,” a heart-wrenching Brazilian drama about life under authoritarianism, was also nominated for both Best Picture and Best International Feature Film. Actress Fernanda Torres is up for Best Actress for her portrayal of Eunice Paiva in the film.

 The Main Cinema hosted one of the first screenings of “I’m Still Here” in the U.S. as part of the Cine Latino Film Festival last October. 

Other nominees for Best Picture are “Dune: Part Two,” “Nickel Boys,” “The Substance,” and “Wicked.” Demi Moore and Cynthia Erivo both received Best Actress nominations for their roles in “The Substance” and “Wicked.”

 “The Art of Mental Health,” an art exhibit made entirely by mental health practitioners, celebrated its opening Saturday at the Vine Arts Center in Minneapolis. 

Multimedia works are on display from therapists, students and retired psychologists who submitted several works for judgment by co-curators and psychologists, Thrace Soryn and Kasia Cymerman. Artists found out which of their works were selected when they arrived to hang their art prior to the opening.

A clinical psychologist and self-taught fiber artist, Cymerman said she wanted to bring people in the field together by sharing their art with one another and the public.

“Our work is so individual, it’s so isolating,” retired psychologist and painter Helen Gilbert said.

Gilbert took up painting when she retired in 2010 at the age of 71. She wanted to do something creative since she was no longer working at her private practice.

She might be painting instead of psychoanalyzing these days, but Gilbert said she is still just as much of a psychologist. That is why she focuses on painting portraits. 

“People are my great interest, that’s what psychologists are all about,” she said. 

Cymerman said she wanted “The Art of Mental Health” to be a space where mental health professionals could express themselves freely through their artworks and where members of the public could see a more personal side of professional psychology. 

“Art is kind of like an expression of things I don’t necessarily know how to put into words,” social worker and oil painter Emily Christensen said. 

Clinical psychologist and oil painter, Laurie Helgoe said art is like therapy and painting feels like a meditative experience.

“When I paint and I am really trying to render something, it’s the one time I’m really focused on what’s really there,” she said.

Helgoe is an associate professor of clinical psychology at Augsburg University, and she invited four of her doctoral students to participate in the exhibit. She said she never saw their work before the exhibit. 

“The fact that I can go into a gallery and see something I haven’t seen before is exciting,” Helgoe said. 

Some artists intertwine their art and profession, like Mindy Benowitz, a psychologist and multimedia artist who said her “Watering the Heart Root” project is focused on sharing advice for healing, much like her clinical work. She said the project is centered around music made of short prayers and affirmations.

A psychologist for over 35 years, Benowitz said her experience with “The Art of Mental Health” has been inspiring and hopeful. She said the other artists and herself took a risk by showing their work and revealing themselves. 

“It would make me happy to have them experience the creativity and meaning in the show, and my contribution to it,” she said. 

“The Art of Mental Health” is on view at the Vine Arts Center in Minneapolis on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until March 22. Additional showings will be held on March 1, 8, 15 and 22.

On Jan. 25, famed horror author Stephen King posted on Threads, “You’ve never seen anything like THE MONKEY. It’s batshit insane. As someone who has indulged in batshittery from time to time, I say that with admiration.”

“The Monkey” was released in theaters Friday, and King may have been correct. The horror-comedy, directed by Osgood Perkins, shows Perkins’ Monty Python-esque comedic timing much better than his 2024 directorial debut, “Longlegs.” 

Thankfully, he left King’s racism out of the script. 

Part horror movie, part Tim Robinson sketch, “The Monkey” is a bizarrely funny adaptation of King’s eponymous 1980 short story about a cursed percussion-playing monkey toy who haunts a family in King’s homeland of Maine. 

The film follows a boy named Hal who, along with his identical twin brother Bill, inherits a monkey toy from their absentee father. The boys turn the key on the monkey’s back, and the toy’s arms move, stopping before it bangs its drum and begins playing music. 

Later that night, while the boys are at a hibachi grill with their babysitter Annie, the monkey starts playing, and Annie is decapitated in a freak hibachi accident. 

The cursed monkey continues to haunt the boys into their adulthood, randomly causing those around them to die horrifically over-the-top deaths every time it plays, like being trampled in a sleeping bag by a stampede of 67 wild horses. 

“The Monkey” is full of elaborately gruesome set pieces where characters are electrocuted, burned, blown to bits and more, all to the whimsical tune of the toy monkey. Its surreal tone and strange characters make its scenes feel more like comedy sketches than horror movie sequences. 

Theo James plays the twins as adults, and Christian Convery plays them as children. While Hal is a more typical reserved and intelligent Stephen King protagonist, Bill is made to be a cartoonish bully, constantly swearing, insulting his brother and threatening to beat him up and “eat his placenta.”

Convery’s performance hilariously contrasts the two characters, while James brought a quirky man-child charm to his portrayal of the two as adults. 

Every side character seemed straight from an SNL sketch, with actors like Elijah Wood and Adam Scott making memorable cameos to deliver exposition. This sort of character comedy is clearly Perkins’ strength, and some of the film’s brightest moments felt more like “Portlandia” than “Pet Sematary.” 

While the movie’s fun, hyper-stylized and anachronistic vision makes for great bits, the plot itself is pretty lackluster. The story of Hal and Bill is pretty thin, much of it given through narration.

Hal’s son Petey is also given little depth despite a solid performance by Colin O’Brien. It felt like Petey was too normal to be in this movie, overshadowed by the film’s eccentric cast of side characters.

The final act of “The Monkey” is rushed and anti-climatic, but this movie is about style, not substance. The film has a darkly surreal, almost neo-noir, tone blending eye-catching characters and colorful settings with shots seemingly inspired by filmmakers like Wes Anderson and David Lynch. 

“The Monkey” is a great movie for anyone willing to ignore all those boring plot details and just enjoy all the weird horror humor and character bits. I sure did. 

“The Monkey” is now showing at the Main Cinema. You can view showtimes and purchase tickets here.