The Monkey Director and Star Open Up About Adapting Stephen King


Stephen King, known for skillfully creating captivating and chilling tales, has left an enduring impact on Hollywood for many years. The newest film adaptation of his work, titled “The Monkey“, is now in theaters. This movie, directed by Osgood Perkins from the Longlegs series, follows twin brothers Hal and Bill (portrayed by Theo James), who uncover a peculiar wind-up monkey toy that once belonged to their father. In writing the script, Perkins drew upon his personal experiences to create an emotional bond with the story of Hal and Bill.

In an interview with ComicBook, Perkins stated, “The story revolves around my own journey. The characters of the twins symbolize me in a way. The plot is based on my real-life experiences dealing with madness, death, and loss, and how my brother and I navigated through those tough times. The scene where a boy searches for his father in his belongings mirrors my childhood with a father who was hard to understand and wasn’t always easy to connect with.

He went on to say, “Therefore, I ended up digging around quite a bit, examining hidden places like closets, offices, storage boxes, and drawers. Let me tell you, some very peculiar things turned up. I believe this pivotal moment signifies the longing to comprehend the elusive father figure.

The Monkey, as depicted, is derived from a Stephen King short tale and helmed by James Wan (The Conjuring, Saw). This latest offering hails from the pen and lens of Osgood Perkins, the writer/director from Longlegs. When twin siblings stumble upon a baffling wind-up monkey, a chain of inexplicable deaths shatters their family. Two and a half decades later, the monkey resumes its lethal rampage, compelling the disconnected brothers to face the cursed plaything once more.

In my opinion, this film is a unique blend of comedy and horror that delivers outrageous death scenes designed for entertainment rather than scares. The intense violence depicted in these sequences was not compromised to achieve a specific rating, thanks to their exaggerated nature. As a movie reviewer, I found it to be a refreshing take on the genre, offering a balance between laughter and suspense that kept me engaged throughout. If you’re looking for something different, this is definitely worth checking out!

Speaking as a passionate cinephile, I’ve never been instructed to trim scenes for violence or gore. It’s due to the fact that our approach mirrors the humor of classics like Looney Tunes and Itchy & Scratchy. In our universe, such incidents are purely fictional. No character ever meets an end as absurd as Uncle John’s exploding in a swimming pool. Such events are physically impossible, so they never occur in our stories.

King wasn’t the sole influential creative figure who sparked ideas for Perkins during the making of “The Monkey“. Instead, he managed to infuse his fondness for the Coen brothers into the project by opting to incorporate voice-over narration throughout the initial segment of the film.

Perkins expressed his affection for storytelling, stating that it’s an excellent method to convey a lot in a film by pairing it with visuals. He further explained, “It provides such a rich means to explore depth. Among the written narratives I admire, Raising Arizona stands out as my favorite – a delightful, whimsical, poetic exploration of an ordinary character in a unique and artistic manner.

James additionally discussed the creative decision to style Bill’s character with a mullet haircut. This hairstyle not only served as a means for viewers to distinguish between the twins, but it also provided an avenue for the movie creators to portray Bill’s troubled mindset.

James explained, “We wanted to keep them somewhat apart, yet not too far. We had limitations on time and funds, but the mullet symbolizes his unscrupulous nature for us.” He added, “You see, there was a journey in Bill’s life that didn’t quite make it into the movie, one where he was expelled from the Army. Then, he embarked on a journey reminiscent of ‘Taxi Driver,’ plunging deeper into darkness. In a sense, the mullet encapsulates this journey – he’s desperate and sly.

The Monkey opens in theaters on February 21st.

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2025-02-20 00:12