From ‘The Monkey’ to ‘Longlegs,’ Oz Perkins’ Opening Scenes Are Way More Meaningful Than You’d Think

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Monkey.The opening kill has become something of a staple in horror. From Chrissy Watkins’ agonizing shark attack in the opening ofJaws to the iconic beginning of Scream that sees Drew Barrymore taunted both on the phone and in real life by Ghostface, the first 10 minutes of a horror film are often used to drag the audience into the torment of the world it’s introducing you to. Osgood Perkins continues to be the new king of opening scenes in horror movies with his latest feature, The Monkey. The new movie builds on what can already be considered a strong tradition of this writer and director’s method. Whenever we come back to the opening scene in each of his films, it’s clear that it is a smart precursor stylistically, tonally, and thematically, to the rest of the movie. It always gives away just the right amount of what we should be excited about, while also withholding just enough to leave the audience intrigued. The first 10 minutes of the new film, based on Stephen King‘s short story from his 1985 collection Skeleton Crew, manage to do several crucial things at once.