Movie fans become enthused as Stephen King’s 1980 horror short story The Monkey, comes to the big screen. Directed by Osgood Perkins, the movie has a dark and sarcastic tone, which becomes unsettling and turns viewers in their seats. 

The Monkey is a new horror movie released in 2025 featuring Theo James who plays 2 identical twin brothers, Bill and Hal, and Colin O’Brien playing Hal’s son, Petey. A wind-up toy is passed down from Bill and Hal’s father, and when turned, causes terrible events to occur.   

Although Bill and Hal are brothers, the bond is not there. Since their father passed away, their mother has been raising them on her own. They fight just like normal siblings, and are totally different people. Bill dresses in more black and baggy clothes whereas Hal has circular glasses and plaid shirts with dress pants. 

Hal begins to get fed up with Bill and their differences, and decides to wind up the monkey, knowing what bad things it can do and who it can hurt. Will the monkey kill bill, or will somebody else become the victim? 

Overall, we thought the movie was okay. There were a lot of deaths back-to-back, and the horror in the film was mostly gore. The movie seemed to become a little rushed halfway through. This could be because they focused too much on building the plot of Bill and Hal as children and not as adults. 

The movie is classified as horror, but we felt that it had the same vibe as A Series of Unfortunate Events. Hal’s humor was being unserious and sarcastic. Bill seemed more closed off emotionally and as if he was holding something in that he couldn’t tell anyone. 

The marketing played a role in the movie’s success. Since Theo James was involved with the movie, it was talked about on TikTok with fans waiting for the movie to come out. The movie’s ad ended up having over 100 million views in just 3 days. 

Overall, we would rate the movie a six out of ten. The film had potential, but the holes in the plot and the rush made it hard to follow. A rewatch might help viewers understand the movie more but once was enough for us.