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Fresh off his runaway hit Longlegs, director Osgood Perkins returns with another gloriously demented fable, The Monkey. And this time, he’s adapting Stephen King. This is going to be insane.
In the brief but atmospheric teaser, a vintage toy monkey beats a drum in a darkened room as carnival music plays over top. Slowly, the carnival music turns more and more demented, as the monkey’s playing grows menacing. It feels almost…. alive. On the final beat, a splatter of blood lands on the monkey’s drum.
As the trailer draws to a close, we see a brief shot of protagonist Hal (Theo James) in a living room covered in dried blood.
source: Neon
The 1st teaser for The Monkey doesn’t offer much to go on, but promises blood and guts well beyond horror legend Perkins’ previous films. Given the decidedly campy source material (King definitely wrote the original story during his cocaine era), Osgood Perkins may have seemed like a left-field choice for writer-director. Having specialized in moodier occult horror, the trailer’s focus on splatter feels like an intentional departure for the horror auteur.
Additionally, given the film’s 2025 release date, the advance marketing suggests a level of faith in the film by producer Neon. While Longlegs largely utilized indie guerrilla marketing, The Monkey seems to be going for a more traditional approach, with a teaser released 6 months in advance being reminiscent of a blockbuster film’s early concept-heavy marketing.
Beyond the film’s quality, this seems to indicate Hollywood’s enthusiasm in Perkins as the next big horror visionary. Alongside star Theo James, one of Hollywood’s quietly dependable character actors, and a who’s who of indie horror icons rounding the supporting cast, Perkins may have just created 2025’s first modern classic.
Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, The Monkey will release theatrically in the US on February 21, 2025. The movie stars Theo James in the lead role.
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