It’s always exciting when a collection of highly talented people collaborate on a new project, and with that in mind, there are some great reasons to be excited about The monkey. With an excellent cast led by Theo Jamesthe upcoming horror movie is based on a short story by the legend Stephen Kingproduced by genre masters James Wanand written and directed by Osgood Perkins – the filmmaker behind Goofyone of the most lively films of the year.
If all that doesn’t make you feel a great sense of anticipation, let the brand new teaser trailer above push you over the finish line.
The monkey released by Neon (the same company behind the distribution of Goofy earlier this summer), and with the studio releasing its latest genre feature in theaters this past weekend – Tilman Singers Cuckoo – they decide to include a special first look at Osgood Perkins upcoming Stephen King movie. Obviously, it’s more ‘teaser’ than ‘trailer’, but despite its short length, it does a surprisingly good job of illustrating a harrowing tone.
An adaptation of the story of the same name (included in the 1985 Stephen King omnibus Skeleton Crew), The monkey tells the story of identical twin brothers (Theo James) who becomes alienated in adulthood after a traumatic childhood involving a number of deaths that appeared to be caused by an evil toy monkey. Based on the blood splatter and corrupt circus music in the trailer, it doesn’t seem like the film will lack scares, but the amusing shot of James removing his glasses and the shape of them left in the blood on his face suggests that there will be some dark laughs too.
In addition to Theo James, the star-studded horror film also stars Tatiana MaslanyChristian Convery, Elijah WoodColin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell and Sarah Levy, and that secretly ended production earlier this year after development was announced in May 2023. Perhaps the best news of all is that audiences won’t have to wait that long to see it, as the film hits theaters in less than six months. While we wait for a number of other Stephen King adaptations to get dates – including Gary Daubermans Salem’s Lot, Mike Flanagan’s Chuck’s life, Francis Lawrence’s The long walk and Edgar Wright’s The running man – we know that The monkey will be released in theaters on February 21, 2025.
This is a highly anticipated film by the CinemaBlend staff, so stay tuned for more news and updates on The monkeyand for a weekly roundup of everything big happening in the world of Stephen King, check out my column King Beatwhich goes live every Thursday.
