
Stephen King has spoken up about the forthcoming movie adaptation of The Monkey; a horror comedy directed by Osgood Perkins (Longlegs) – and it sounds like it’s going to be one off-the-chain, feral, gory ride for audiences.
Here’s what King had to say: “You’ve never seen anything like THE MONKEY. It’s batshit insane. As someone who has indulged in batshittery from time to time, I say that with admiration.”
Yes… yes, you have, Stephen. Having been a fan of King’s work, and a constant reader since the young age of 11, I’ve got to say I’ve definitely read quite a bit of batshittery over the years. Some batshittery I probably didn’t even understand at the time due to its adult nature (but that’s by-the-way).
Also, I recall King has commented positively on adaptations in the past, and in one case the let-down was spectacular (you all know I’m talking about The Dark Tower). But in this case, I’m going to trust him because the trailer does look pretty rad.
Here’s the official description:
When twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.

Perkins also weighed in, by commenting:
I took a playful horror shine to it right away. That was important to me from the get-go with this project, that it wasn’t going to be dreadfully somber. It was going to be more comedic, and cozy, which I think seemed correct for a movie about a toy. I wanted to steer away from the more serious movies about possessed toys, which don’t ring true for me.
This adaptation of The Monkey is a little different from the short story, simply down to a copyright issue. In the original story, the monkey in question is bashing a pair of cymbals together – unfortunately, Disney owns the copyright for that (due to a monkey featured in Toy Story), so the cymbals have been replaced by a drum and drumsticks.
I had been aware of the change, but it’s good to know that’s why. Does make me wonder, though… I thought monkeys sporting a red fez and holding cymbals was a fairly standard old-fashioned toy. Or was that just me reading too much King again? Anyway!
The Monkey is coming to a cinema near you from 21st February. Do with that info what you will!
What do you think of the latest notes about The Monkey from Stephen King himself – do you trust him? Are you excited about seeing The Monkey when it’s released in cinemas next month?