The 2025 movie schedule is in full swing and, while we’re still early into the new year, a number of exciting titles either have released or are just around the corner. In that latter category is Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey – an upcoming Stephen King movie. Over the past year, horror hounds have received teases of the flick and, now, it’s officially screened for critics. Fans will be happy to hear that pundits are praising Perkins’ latest cinematic venture, and they’re bringing up two key elements while doing so.
For those who aren’t familiar, The Monkey is adapted from Stephen King’s 1980 short story of the same name. The film follows two brothers who, after finding a vintage toy monkey belonging to their father, witness a number of gruesome deaths. While the siblings try to distance themselves from the eerie vibes of the item, they eventually seek to put an end to its curse for good. CinemaBlend’s resident Stephen King fan, Eric Eisenberg, was among those to see the film, and he highlighted a pair of major points while talking up the film on Bluesky:
Osgood Perkins' THE MONKEY is super over the top, really disgusting, and a blast. It has a blunt comedic sensibility that pairs wonderfully with its extreme gore, and it successfully earns the superlative ‘Funniest Stephen King Movie.’
Some may be surprised to hear “funniest” when it comes to a film adapted from the work of the iconic It writer. Yet the film’s humor is actually one of the elements that critics keep bringing up along with the extreme amounts of gore. On X, film critic Jeff Ewing also used branded the film with the same superlative that Eisenberg (who believed this could be the goriest King adaptation) bestowed upon the movie and also hyped up the brutal nature of the movie:
Very genuinely, [The Monkey] was one of the funniest horror comedies I’ve seen in a long time. It’s clever, flawlessly timed, and the gore is absolutely fucked up. I’ll never look at a toy again. Just… at all.
It sounds like any toy aficionados out there may want to give some serious consideration as to whether they want to dive into this crazy-sounding flick. Nevertheless, based on the sentiments that critic Courtney Howard shared on X, this movie is more than worth a watch. She not only lauded the wild kills but she also praised the “deadpan delivery” of one particular star, which I’d imagine added to the film’s comedy:
Osgood Perkins’ [The Monkey] fuckin’ cooks. It’s BANANAS! An outlandishly demented, coked-up ride. Slick, stylized & sadistic. Gnarly, gleefully fresh kills & thrills - a la Rube Goldberg machines/ Final Destination-inspired demises. Theo James’ deadpan delivery impresses.
This certainly tracks, as Theo James – who plays twin brothers Hal and Bill – is a talented actor In this film, he’s also joined by a lineup of talented performers like Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood and Sarah Levy. Of course, credit must also go to director Osgood Perkins, who more than made his mark on the horror genre last year with the well-reviewed Longlegs. When it comes to Perkins’ latest film, critic Eric Goldman took to X to also praise the gore and comedy while also favorably comparing the movie to a beloved horror franchise:
[The Monkey] is a bloody blast. A big shift away from the feel of Longlegs, the movie is a full on horror-comedy with Osgood Perkins having a ton of fun going into Final Destination territory with one crazy-gory-twisted death after another.
Those who’ve watched the Final Destination films likely know how crazy that franchise’s kills are, so this is serious praise. TheWrap’s Drew Taylor also joined in the wave of positivity on X by praising Osgood Perkins’ film for being “funny,” "scary" and more and, with that, he also likened it to a classic horror comedy:
Adored [The Monkey]. 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.
So, based on what critics are saying right now, it sounds like the big laughs and intense kills make The Monkey worth the price of admission. Previously, Osgood Perkins made this film sound unlike any other Stephen King adaptation before it, and there’s seemingly reason to be confident in that assessment now. Of course, to form your own thoughts, you’ll just have to see the film for yourself when it opens in theaters on February 21.
