Sooner or later, it would appear almost every filmmaker adapts a Stephen King story. They have not always been winners, but when they work, they really work. And hopes are high given that the latest, The Monkey (which is drawn from the short horror story featured in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew) comes via Osgood Perkins, whose Longlegs was creepily effective and has seen big success at the box office. Check out a very brief teaser for the film, which stars Theo James:
With James Wan – no stranger to horror himself — as a producer, The Monkey has the following 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."
Perkins, meanwhile, described the film to Bloody Disgusting as "sorta like if Robert Zemeckis had just a little bit of acid and made a Stephen King picture about a monkey toy". So… less weird than Longlegs? Possible, but from the evidence of this first look, still looking to shock. Alongside James, the cast includes Tatiana Maslany and Elijah Wood.
And the best news to report is that the film will land in UK cinemas on the same day as the US – 21 February 2025. Monkey magic? We're looking forward to this one.