How The Monkey Compares To Longlegs Explained By Star & Osgood Perkins Collaborator Sarah Levy

Last year, Osgood Perkins made waves with Longlegs thanks to its disturbing marketing campaign and a demonic performance from Nicolas Cage. It went on to be one of the biggest horror successes of 2024, and now Perkins is back with The Monkey, an adaptation of a Stephen King short story. The two are very different films – Longlegs is a serial killer thriller that dabbles in the occult, while The Monkey is a gross-out horror comedy that is lighter in tone but still quite scary.

Schitt’s Creek alum Sarah Levy plays Aunt Ida in The Monkey, which tells the story of a toy monkey with a murderous tendency. It is based on a short story by Stephen King. One of the first looks of the movie to be released was a scene featuring Levy as she gets herself into more and more predicaments over the course of several minutes, showcasing that it is the perfect combination of scary and funny.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Sarah Levy talks about working with Osgood Perkins both as a scene partner in front of the camera and as the director of the film while comparing the new film to Longlegs. She also praises Christian Convery’s work and laughs about how ridiculous her death scene is.

Sarah Levy Compares The Monkey To Longlegs

“It Was Like Silence Of The Lambs-y & Had All That Creepiness”

When asked about working with Perkins, Levy immediately sings his praises. It was her first time working with him, but she calls the experience “incredible,” going on to say, “Instantly, you feel a familiarity with him. Instantly you feel comfortable. Everyone just adored him. So it just made things so easy and fun and creative and effortless because he really lets you do whatever you want.“

Levy also says she “felt a lot of freedom” when working on The Monkey. She is one of the few members of the cast that was able to work with Perkins on the other side of the camera, as the director also stars in the film as Uncle Chip, Levy’s character’s husband. Levy says “to actually be in scenes with him while he’s directing, he was just so relaxed. He just had such an effort. Everything just felt relaxed.“

She goes on to say, “considering we were moving so quickly, he was able to get everything he needed so fast, but with the confidence that everybody just knew they were in good hands, and he’s such a wonderful person. I really hope to work with him again.“

Working with Perkins piqued her interest in his other work, so she watched Longlegs when it came out, which was after filming with him. “They are so different,” Levy exclaims. “It was like Silence of the Lambs-y and had all that creepiness.” She admits she has yet to actually see The Monkey at the time of the interview, but “from what I hear, this is just totally different.“

Warning: Spoilers Below For The Monkey

Sarah Levy Addresses Her Character’s Brutal Scene

“I Couldn’t Believe What I Was Reading”

Levy has one of the most memorable death scenes in the entire film, one that will stick with audiences for a long time. When asked what her reaction was when reading the script for the first time, Levy admits, “I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It felt almost so comical that I was like, this can’t actually read as a real true death.“

“It just kept going, and I thought, man, if I get the opportunity to actually do this, this would be wild,” she adds. Well, she did, and she confesses that “shooting it was just as exciting as it was reading it. Even more so.“

I most likely will never get the opportunity to do something like that ever again.

Levy claims that filming that scene was “so much fun” and says, “I most likely will never get the opportunity to do something like that ever again.” This is a role that is sure to be a good memory for her, as she adds, “So to do it, and have it captured on screen, directed by Oz, is like, you cannot get any better than that.“

Sarah Levy Praises Christian Convery’s Acting Chops

The Young Actor Plays Twins In The Monkey

Christian Convery plays twin boys in The Monkey. Not many actors can pull off portraying two characters on screen together, but he does so brilliantly. When asked about working with him, Levy admits that she “only worked with him very briefly” because most of her material was solo. However, she did have a few days with Convery and was able to watch him do both roles a little bit.

“I think he only had one or two lines, but the thought, especially at that age, to do this movie playing two different parts, two very different characters. That is a level of maturity that only a select group of [people have],” Levy explains, he “was just so poised. So professional. It was very impressive.“

The Monkey is now playing in theaters.

Be sure to check out our other interviews for The Monkey: