The Monkey is a 2025 American comedy horror[5] film based on the 1980 short story by Stephen King. The film adaptation is written and directed by Osgood Perkins. It stars Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott, and Elijah Wood. Its plot follows twin brothers whose lives are turned upside down by a cursed toy monkey that causes random horrific deaths.
The Monkey | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Osgood Perkins |
Screenplay by | Osgood Perkins |
Based on | "The Monkey" by Stephen King |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Nico Aguilar |
Edited by |
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Music by | Edo Van Breemen[1] |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Neon |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes[3] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $10–11 million[4] |
The Monkey was released in theaters in the United States by Neon on February 21, 2025.
Plot
editIn 1999, pilot Petey Shelburn attempts to return and destroy a drum-playing toy monkey at an antiques shop but fails. Shortly afterward, he disappears, leaving his wife, Lois, to raise their identical twin sons: the meek Hal and the cruel Bill. Years later, the boys discover the monkey in a closet containing their father’s belongings and wind its key. Later that evening, the monkey begins drumming while they are at dinner, triggering the accidental decapitation of their babysitter, Annie.
Bill’s bullying of Hal intensifies, prompting Hal to turn the monkey’s key again, hoping it will kill Bill. Instead, their mother, Lois, suffers a sudden aneurysm and dies in front of Bill. Overcome with guilt, Hal attempts to destroy the monkey with a cleaver before he and his brother move to Maine to live with their aunt Ida and uncle Chip. However, the monkey mysteriously reappears at their new home, completely unscathed. Realizing its power, Bill, despite Hal’s protests, tests it; it results in Chip’s gruesome death after he is trampled by a stampede during a hunting trip. Understanding that the monkey cannot be destroyed, the brothers seal it in its box and throw it down a nearby well, hoping it will remain hidden.
Twenty-five years later, Hal is estranged from both his brother and his son, Petey, whom he sees only once a year out of fear that his own misfortune will pass onto him. Hal learns that his ex-wife and her new husband, parenting author Ted Hammerman, plan to adopt Petey fully, effectively cutting him out of his son’s life. During their stay at a motel, Hal lies about being an only child, while Petey grows increasingly frustrated with his father’s apparent indifference.
Aunt Ida is killed at her home when the monkey, having escaped the well, is triggered once again. At the subsequent estate sale, Ricky, the son of a local police officer, purchases the monkey and becomes attached to it, as it reminds him of his absent father. Out of the blue, Bill calls Hal and insists he drive to Ida’s house to settle her estate and locate the monkey. Hal realizes it has already been activated when a woman is electrocuted and explodes in their motel pool. Traveling to Ida’s house with Petey, Hal learns that a series of bizarre fatal accidents have occurred in town over the past week following Ida’s death, where Petey also discovers Bill’s existence. Shortly after, the real estate agent is killed in front of Hal when a shotgun falls from a closet and discharges on its own.
Hal discovers that Bill now possesses the monkey, having hired Ricky to retrieve it from him. Bill, having long suspected that their mother’s death was caused by Hal using the monkey, has spent years waiting for its return to seek revenge. He has also deduced that whoever turns the key is immune to its power but cannot control who it kills, having repeatedly attempted to kill Hal, only for the monkey to claim others instead. Bill demands that Hal bring Petey to him so that Petey can turn the key in his place, but Hal refuses. Ricky, disguised in his father’s police uniform and armed with a gun, kidnaps Hal and Petey, forcing Petey to enter Bill’s booby-trapped house to retrieve the monkey.
Petey evades Bill’s traps and encounters his uncle for the first time, who tricks him into turning the key, resulting in Ricky’s death by a swarm of wasps. Hal follows his son inside, where Bill, enraged, attempts to force the monkey to drum without turning the key. In retaliation, the monkey begins drumming uncontrollably, triggering widespread death and destruction throughout the town while still sparing Hal. Amid the chaos, Hal and Bill reconcile over their shared grief for their mother and apologize to each other. Shortly after, the monkey suddenly decapitates Bill using one of his own booby traps.
Hal and Petey drive through town, accepting their fate as the monkey’s owners to prevent the key from ever being turned again. At an intersection, a pale black-eyed man riding a pale horse — implied to represent the Pale Horseman — passes by and acknowledges them. Hal, determined to reconnect with his son, suggests they go dancing, something Lois had loved. Petey accepts.
Cast
edit- Theo James as Hal and Bill Shelburn
- Christian Convery as young Hal and Bill
- Tatiana Maslany as Lois Shelburn, Hal and Bill's mother
- Colin O'Brien as Petey, Hal's son
- Rohan Campbell as Ricky
- Sarah Levy as Ida, Hal and Bill's aunt
- Adam Scott as Capt. Petey Shelburn, Hal and Bill's absent father
- Elijah Wood as Ted Hammerman, the new husband of Hal's ex-wife
- Osgood Perkins as Chip, Hal and Bill's uncle
- Danica Dreyer as Annie Wilkes, Hal and Bill's babysitter
- Laura Mennell as Hal's ex-wife and Petey's mother
- Nicco Del Rio as Rookie Priest[5]
Production
editDirector Frank Darabont originally held the film rights to Stephen King's short story "The Monkey" and planned to begin working on a film adaptation upon completing The Mist (2007), itself an adaptation of one of King's novellas. The project never materialized.[6]
Going into the 2023 Cannes Film Market, financer Black Bear Pictures announced that a film adaptation of "The Monkey" was in development and up for sale to distributors.[7] Osgood Perkins was hired to write and direct, and James Wan would produce under his Atomic Monster banner. Theo James was cast in the lead role.[8] In March 2024, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Rohan Campbell and Sarah Levy were revealed to have joined the cast.[9]
Principal photography occurred in Vancouver from February 5 to March 22, 2024.[10][11][9] The original story by Stephen King features a cymbal-banging monkey, but the film replaces the cymbals with a drum. According to Perkins, this change was made because the film's producer believed that The Walt Disney Company owned the rights to the cymbal-banging version of the toy on the basis of its appearance in Toy Story 3.[12] In writing the film, Perkins chose to give the film comedic elements because he thought it was more fitting for a film about a toy, and he wanted to distinguish The Monkey from more serious horror films about possessed toys.[13] Perkins further stated that the comedy in the film intentionally avoids subtlety and makes use of extreme gore to joke about the absurdity, pointlessness, and randomness of death.[14] Perkins stated fully to Empire on his approach to the material:
I took liberties like a motherfucker. They [Atomic Monster] had a very serious script. Very serious. I felt it was too serious, and I told them: 'This doesn't work for me. The thing with this toy monkey is that the people around it all die in insane ways. So, I thought: Well, I'm an expert on that.' Both my parents died in insane, headline-making ways. I spent a lot of my life recovering from tragedy, feeling quite bad. It all seemed inherently unfair. You personalize the grief: 'Why is this happening to me?' But I'm older now and you realize this shit happens to everyone. Everyone dies. Sometimes in their sleep, sometimes in truly insane ways, like I experienced. But everyone dies. And I thought maybe the best way to approach that insane notion is with a smile.[15]
Marketing
editThe film's official trailer released on January 16, 2025, and amassed over 43 million views online within 24 hours. After 72 hours, it had over 100 million views;[16][17] according to Neon, this made it "the most watched independent horror film trailer ever".[18] In late January, Neon attempted to air a trailer for the film on four major television networks, and all four rejected the studio, citing the film's "excessive violence". Neon released screenshots of the email discussions with the networks, although identifying information was redacted.[19]
As part of the film's marketing campaign, Neon opened an online application for churches to seek permission to screen the film alongside theaters.[20] Additionally, Neon partnered with Bloody Disgusting to hold a giveaway for an exclusive resin sculpture of the titular monkey toy.[21]
Release
editIn May 2024, Neon won a bidding war between multiple US distributors for domestic rights at the Marché du Film and set a theatrical release date for 2025.[22] The film was released in the US on February 21, 2025.[23] The Monkey marks the second collaboration between Neon and Perkins after Longlegs (2024).[24] Prior to its official February release, the film was screened early in January at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre as part of Beyond Fest.[16]
Reception
editCritical response
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 103 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Fiendishly clever with some unforgettably gory set pieces, The Monkey reaffirms director Osgood Perkins' horror bona fides while revealing he also has a surprising – albeit sick – sense of humor."[25] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "Perkins has always been a formally confident filmmaker, but The Monkey contains some of his most striking imagery, shot through with malice by Nico Aguilar, and perfectly assembled by editors Graham Fortin & Greg Ng (who also cut Longlegs)."[27] Stephen King, the author of the original story, praised the film, describing it as "batshit insane".[28][29]
Siddhant Adlakha from Inverse gave the film a less positive review, describing it as "tonally haphazard" and criticizing it for a "lack of dramatic coherence". He argued that the film's irony and snark undermine any intended commentary about parenthood or death, comparing it unfavorably to Deadpool.[30]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Edo Van Breemen Scoring Osgood Perkins' The Monkey". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (February 17, 2025). "The Monkey Review: A Toy Monkey Heralds Over-the-Top Deaths in Osgood Perkins' Trivially Snarky, Ham-Handed Follow-Up to Longlegs". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
- ^ "The Monkey (15A)". Irish Film Classification Office. January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
- ^ Willmore, Alison (July 12, 2024). "Osgood Perkins Gets Into the Family Business". Vulture. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Romano, Nick (December 19, 2024). "The Monkey is like a comedy, except 'people die in insane ways': Inside the Stephen King adaptation (exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
It's a perfect example of the tone the director wanted to strike, that mix of horror and comedy.
- ^ Finke, Nikki (April 18, 2007). "Why Frank Darabont Told George Lucas 'You're Insane' Over Indiana Jones 4". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 20, 2023). "Prolific La La Land Producer Automatik Merges with Range Media Partners". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 9, 2023). "Theo James to Star in Stephen King Adaptation The Monkey from The Conjuring Universe Creator James Wan; Black Bear International Launches Hot Project for Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (March 28, 2024). "The Monkey: Stephen King Adaptation with Theo James also Stars Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Rohan Campbell & Sarah Levy; Filming Wraps". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "In Production - British Columbia". Creative BC Film Commission. December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ Cooper, Alison (February 29, 2024). "17 movies and TV shows filming in Vancouver in March". Daily Hive. ZoomerMedia. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ West, Amy; Setchfield, Nick (January 25, 2025). "The Monkey director explains how a bizarre copyright issue actually improved the comedy horror movie: 'Thanks, Disney!'". SFX. Future plc. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via GamesRadar+.
- ^ Milici, Lauren; Setchfield, Nick (January 26, 2025). "The Monkey director explains why it was so important to him to give Stephen King's 'chilling' short story a 'playful horror' twist: 'I think [that] seemed correct for a movie about a toy'". SFX. Future plc. Retrieved January 29, 2025 – via GamesRadar+.
- ^ Travis, Ben (January 14, 2025). "The Monkey Sees Osgood Perkins 'Going for Extremes' With Explosive Gore: 'There's a Lot of Mess'". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ^ ""I Took Liberties Like a Motherf**ker": The Monkey Director Reveals Why He Turned a Stephen King Horror Story into a Comedy (& How the Author Reacted)". Screen Rant. January 20, 2025.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 24, 2025). "The Monkey, Osgood Perkins' Next Pic, Racks Up 109M Views in Trailer Traffic, a Record for Independent Horror Film". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
- ^ Shayo, Lukas (January 26, 2025). "New Stephen King Horror Movie Sets Massive Trailer Viewing Record Ahead of Release". ScreenRant. Valnet. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
- ^ Carter, Justin (January 26, 2025). "The Monkey's Newest Gory Trailer Is a Record-Breaking Hit". Gizmodo. Keleops Media. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
- ^ Mahler, Matt (January 29, 2025). "Leaked Emails Show That the New Stephen King Movie Is Too Violent to Get Ads". MovieWeb. Valnet. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ^ Mahler, Matt (February 16, 2025). "New Stephen King Movie Will Screen in Churches". MovieWeb. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ Roffman, Michael (February 17, 2025). "Stephen King Week Begins: Win an Exclusive Resin Sculpt of 'The Monkey'". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas; Lodderhose, Diana (May 18, 2024). "Stephen King Adaptation The Monkey, Starring Theo James, Pre-Sells to Neon for U.S. After Promo Sparks Buyer Tug-ff-War — Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Romano, Nick (June 20, 2024). "The Monkey director calls Stephen King film 'Robert Zemeckis on ecstasy' (exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (August 12, 2024). "The Monkey Teaser: Theo James Stars In Stephen King Adaptation Reteaming Longlegs Helmer Osgood Perkins with Neon". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
- ^ "The Monkey". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
- ^ "The Monkey Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
- ^ Tallerico, Brian (February 2025). "The Monkey". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ McCormick, Luke (January 27, 2025). "Stephen King Gives Honest Review of 'Batsh-t' New Film Based on His Work". Men's Journal. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Haysom, Sam (January 29, 2025). "Stephen King's 'The Monkey' review on Threads is pretty unambiguous". Mashable. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Adlakha, Siddhant (February 3, 2025). "'The Monkey' Review: A Glib Thriller That Botches Stephen King's Horror Classic". Inverse. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
External links
edit- The Monkey at IMDb