Known primarily for his macabre contributions to horror cinema, Osgood Perkins is back behind the camera for Stephen King's short story adaptation, The Monkey. The first trailer of the suspense horror film features Theo James as twin brothers Hal and Bill, haunted by a cursed monkey toy.
This teaser dropped on October 15, 2024, and displays Perkins's usual cinematic gloom and darkness, but with a hint of humor - something that fans will appreciate.
This line from the teaser gives one the chilling feeling of the bleak, fatalistic essence of the film:
“Everybody dies… and that’s life,”
This marks the start of a movie that begins to plumb into terror as the toy embarks upon a spree of deaths. The Monkey promises to be one of the most keenly anticipated horror releases of 2025. NEON will distribute the film after a fierce bidding war at the 2024 Marché du Film.
Osgood Perkins' vision for Stephen King can be seen in The Monkey trailer
On the tail of Longlegs' success, after the July 2024 theatrical run, Perkins now takes on the monumental task of reimagining The Monkey with a twist. With his experience also in Gretel & Hansel (2020) and The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015), Perkins directed this classic from Stephen King at an even dryer level.
The monkey toy, originally described as wielding cymbals, is slightly reimagined, now drumming its way to bloodier consequences.
In the trailer, James delivers a haunting line:
“A beast not from this Earth… smiting the ones who deserved it, the ones who didn’t, and everyone in between.”
This vague warning signals a film that unleashes havoc in apparently random ways, eclipsing the separating lines between victims who are innocent and mere accidental victims.
As the trailer builds tension, an ominous voiceover by James' character warns,
“For the longest time, there was nothing… but then, it appeared.”
In this adaptation, Perkins combines suspense with morbid wit, a style evident in the teppanyaki restaurant kill hinted at in the trailer. Fans of both Stephen King and Osgood Perkins are likely to appreciate this new adaptation that intertwines supernatural dread with shocking deaths.
James Wan is one of those acclaimed producers, with The Conjuring and Insidious, already indicating horror pedigree. Meanwhile, whereas an exact budget is not announced, it's modestly estimated at around $10-11 million, but this might promise more than what one can expect from high tension to some unnerving kills.
As Perkins puts it, every bit and moment is built to disturb every viewing audience; the trailer does precisely that, teasing gut-wrenching scenes with a gruesome instance where James' character goes to put himself together, hinting at one of the movie's most intense kills.
Read more: Salem's Lot is also based on a Stephen King novel
Cast and plot of The Monkey movie
This dark film brings Stephen King's darker vision to life as it stars Theo James in dual roles as Hal and Bill, while Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, and Laura Mennell provide support. The story of The Monkey revolves around two identical brothers who find their father's possessed monkey toy hidden in the attic.
This, as soon as it is found, leads to a series of gruesome deaths.
“Whoever controls it… controls life and death,” James’ voiceover ominously declares about the toy in the teaser.
As the brothers try to distance themselves from the toy, they drift away, caught and bogged down by the horrors the thing has left in its wake. In the Perkins adaptation, different layers of psychological tension show the characters unravel as they face up to the consequences of the toy's force on life and death.
The creepy storyline receives a boost with Elijah Wood in a cameo, reminding us of his earlier performance in the horror film Maniac. Better acting comes through from Maslany and Mennell, pulling at the heartstrings of this drama.
Read more: An iconic yet disappointing And Just Like That cameo update
Since the August teaser, fans have been wringing their hands for more, and the new trailer didn't disappoint.
As Variety says, The Monkey will be Perkins' biggest project so far. Glimpses in the trailer are promising, with early indications including dread, twisted humor, and shocking death scenes.
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The Monkey will be released on 21st February 2025.
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