Stephen King has shared his verdict on upcoming horror-comedy movie The Monkey – and it’s got his seal of approval.
“You’ve never seen anything like THE MONKEY. It’s batshit insane,” the author wrote on Threads. “As someone who has indulged in batshittery from time to time, I say that with admiration.”
Written and directed by Longlegs helmer Osgood Perkins and adapted from King’s short story of the same name, The Monkey follows twin brothers Hal and Bill (both played by Theo James), who witnessed a string of horrifying deaths as children after discovering their father’s toy monkey in the attic.
After attempting to put their past behind them and going their separate ways, the brothers suddenly find themselves surrounded by death again as adults and are forced to reconcile to eliminate the toy primate once and for all. The movie’s cast also includes Tatiana Maslany and Elijah Wood.
“I took a playful horror shine to it right away. That was important to me from the get-go with this project, that it wasn’t going to be dreadfully somber,” Perkins recently told SFX magazine. “It was going to be more comedic, and cozy, which I think seemed correct for a movie about a toy. I wanted to steer away from the more serious movies about possessed toys, which don’t ring true for me.”
Perkins’ last movie, Longlegs, was a hit when it was released last year. Nicolas Cage plays the titular serial killer, who targets families with daughters born on the 14th day of the month. It Follows’ Maika Monroe stars as FBI agent Lee Harker, who’s investigating Longlegs’ spree of occultist murders.
The Monkey arrives on the big screen on February 21. For more, fill out your watchlist with our guide to the other best new horror movies on the way in 2025.
