The 2025 film schedule is in full swing and, whereas we’re nonetheless early into the brand new 12 months, plenty of thrilling titles both have launched or are simply across the nook. In that latter class is Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey – an upcoming Stephen King film. Over the previous 12 months, horror hounds have obtained teases of the flick and, now, it’s formally screened for critics. Followers will probably be glad to listen to that pundits are praising Perkins’ newest cinematic enterprise, and so they’re mentioning two key parts whereas doing so.
For individuals who aren’t acquainted, The Monkey is tailored from Stephen King’s 1980 quick story of the identical title. The movie follows two brothers who, after discovering a classic toy monkey belonging to their father, witness plenty of ugly deaths. Whereas the siblings attempt to distance themselves from the eerie vibes of the merchandise, they finally search to place an finish to its curse for good. CinemaBlend’s resident Stephen King fan, Eric Eisenberg, was amongst these to see the movie, and he had nothing however optimistic ideas to share on Bluesky:
Osgood Perkins’ THE MONKEY is tremendous excessive, actually disgusting, and a blast. It has a blunt comedic sensibility that pairs splendidly with its excessive gore, and it efficiently earns the superlative ‘Funniest Stephen King Film.’
Some could also be stunned to listen to “funniest” in relation to a movie tailored from the work of the long-lasting It author. But the movie’s humor is definitely one of many parts that critics preserve placing emphasis on together with the intense quantities of gore. On X, movie critic Jeff Ewing additionally used branded the movie with the identical superlative that Eisenberg (who believed this might be the goriest King adaptation) bestowed upon the film and likewise overvalued the brutal nature of the film:
Very genuinely, [The Monkey] was one of many funniest horror comedies I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s intelligent, flawlessly timed, and the gore is completely fucked up. I’ll by no means have a look at a toy once more. Simply… in any respect.
It sounds like several toy aficionados on the market might wish to give some severe consideration as to whether or not they wish to dive into this crazy-sounding flick. However, based mostly on the emotions that critic Courtney Howard shared on X, this film is greater than value a watch. She not solely lauded the wild kills however she additionally praised the “deadpan supply” of 1 explicit star, which I’d think about added to the movie’s comedy:
Osgood Perkins’ [The Monkey] fuckin’ cooks. It’s BANANAS! An outlandishly demented, coked-up trip. Slick, stylized & sadistic. Gnarly, gleefully contemporary kills & thrills – a la Rube Goldberg machines/ Ultimate Vacation spot-inspired demises. Theo James’ deadpan supply impresses.
This actually tracks, as Theo James – who performs twin brothers Hal and Invoice – is a proficient actor On this movie, he’s additionally joined by a lineup of proficient performers like Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wooden and Sarah Levy. After all, credit score should additionally go to director Osgood Perkins, who greater than made his mark on the horror style final 12 months with the well-reviewed Longlegs. With regards to Perkins’ newest movie, critic Eric Goldman took to X to additionally reward the gore and comedy whereas additionally favorably evaluating the film to a beloved horror franchise:
[The Monkey] is a bloody blast. An enormous shift away from the texture of Longlegs, the film is a full on horror-comedy with Osgood Perkins having a ton of enjoyable going into Ultimate Vacation spot territory with one crazy-gory-twisted demise after one other.
Those that’ve watched the Ultimate Vacation spot movies probably understand how loopy that franchise’s kills are, so that is severe reward. TheWrap’s Drew Taylor additionally joined within the wave of positivity on X by praising Osgood Perkins’ movie for being “humorous,” “scary” and extra and, with that, he additionally likened it to a basic horror comedy:
Adored [The Monkey]. Oz Perkins has been one of the vital thrilling style filmmakers since he began and his newest is about nearly as good a time as you possibly can have on the motion pictures – humorous, scary, poignant and so, so enjoyable. A uncommon film that may be in comparison with Gremlins when it comes to giddy chaos.
So, based mostly on what critics are saying proper now, it seems like the large laughs and intense kills make The Monkey well worth the worth of admission. Beforehand, Osgood Perkins made this movie sound not like every other Stephen King adaptation earlier than it, and there’s seemingly cause to be assured in that evaluation now. After all, to kind your individual ideas, you’ll simply must see the movie for your self when it opens in theaters on February 21.