Having given viewers a sharp, satanic, _Silence Of The Lambs_ian chill with Maika Monroe x Nic Cage joint Longlegs just a few short months ago, horror's newest enfant terrible is set to put his genre bona fides to the ultimate test with his next movie — a Stephen King adaptation! Based on the horror novelist's same-named short story, Perkins' The Monkey is set to see Theo James star as Hal and Bill, twin brothers whose lives are upended in horrific fashion by a cursed toy monkey. If it sounds nuts, then check out the teaser below, because it looks nuts too:
"Whoever controls it, controls life and death," says a nameless narrator of the titular accursed toy in this decidedly tongue-in-cheek new teaser, "and those deaths are really fucked up." No kidding! Electrocution via TV? Check. Flaming prams? Check. Flaming people? Check. A blood-soaked Theo James, er, regurgitating a severed finger? Check, check, and treble-check! Sure, this may only be a minute-and-a-half long glimpse of the unholy terrors Perkins has up his sleeve here, but with its gonzo horror flourishes and off-kilter sense of humour, consider us sold already. And that's before we even take into consideration the fact that Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, and Schitt's Creek fave Sarah Levy are all aboard for the fucked-up death fest, too.
And here's the official synopsis: "When twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them."
With James Wan aboard as producer, Perkins at the helm, and one of King's best deep cut short stories serving as source material, we're primed and ready to go ape for The Monkey whenever it hits cinemas this side of the pond. And, if you're one of our dear American readers, you'll be able to say, "Ooh... ooh... ahhh... ahhh!" yourselves when the movie lands in multiplexes stateside on 21 February.