Stephen King adaptation The Monkey gets strong early reviews: Reports

The Monkey, adapted from a Stephen King story, is set for a February release, and looking at its early reviews, it may end up being a blast for the audiences.

It doesn't come as a surprise considering the person adapting this story. Oz Perkins, who made last year's Longlegs is returning to the big screens with another horror project. Back then, he brought Nicolas Cage in a terrifying avatar and made one of the most popular films from 2024. It received mainly positive reactions from the audiences as well as the critics. The Monkey seems to be on the same path.

The official synopsis for The Monkey reads:

"When twin brothers Bill and Hal find their father's old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths start. The siblings decide to throw the toy away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years."

The trailer offers a glimpse at the film's dark humor along with its spooky premise. Now, the early reviews claim that the film is filled with laugh-out-loud moments. The reviewers mainly praised Oz Perkins's filmmaking style and Theo James' performance and pointed out the similarities with some older movies like Final Destination.

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The Monkey: Early reviews for the Stephen King adaptation revealed

The early reviews for The Monkey are in and it seems like it might delight the horror fans and Stephen King fans alike. After watching the film, Drew Taylor from The Wrap said:

"Adored #TheMonkey. Oz Perkins has been one of the most exciting genre filmmakers since he started and his latest is about as good a time as you can have at the movies - funny, scary, poignant and so, so fun. A rare movie that can be compared to Gremlins in terms of giddy chaos."

The Direct's Russ Milheim revealed that the film is filled with "aggressively creative deaths". Here's what he said:

"#TheMonkey is an absolutely wild, brutal dark comedy filled with aggressively creative deaths that’ll keep audiences glued to their seats laughing the whole time. Fans of Final Destination will feel right at home."

Tessa Smith from Screenrant found the film "bonkers," but in a good way. She added:

"I just had the BEST time watching The Monkey! Easily one of the best horror comedies I have seen in a while. I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt! It's bonkers, ridiculous, & so much fun! Lots of unique deaths. Can't wait to watch it again! A BLAST! Theo James is great! #TheMonkey"

Collider's Perri Nemiroff, Reel Blend's Jake Hamilton, and Awards Radar's Joey Magidson also had nothing but praises for this "savagely funny and savagely gory" film.

While The Monkey's early reviews are positive, the film still has to compete with Captain America: Brave New World at the Box Office, which enters its second week when The Monkey gets released. It will also be up against Old Guy, The Unbreakable Boy, and Cleaner. However, the word-of-mouth publicity may help the film generate hype, similar to how it happened with Perkins' previous Longlegs.