Stephen King Gives Honest Review of ‘Batsh-t’ New Film Based on His Work
Stephen King had a grand time checking out the latest film version of his written work.
The Monkey, helmed by Longlegs director Osgood Perkins, is based on a King short story that shares the same name. It can be found in the author’s 1985 book Skeleton Crew.
The upcoming horror movie stars Theo James as a pair of twins, Hal and Bill. Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy also appear in the film.
King took to his Threads account after viewing The Monkey ahead of its February release, and was into the mix of horror and humor he saw.
“You’ve never seen anything like THE MONKEY,” he wrote. “It’s batsh-t insane. As someone who has indulged in batsh-ttery from time to time, I say that with admiration.”
Related: The 15 Most Anticipated Movies of 2025 That You Can't Miss
King’s original story focuses on twins Hal and Bill finding their father’s toy monkey in the attic in their youth, after which gnarly murders start happening around them. They make the decision to get rid of the toy and move on. Later in adulthood, the murders begin again, bringing the siblings back together to stop the death by toy.
King has not always been the fondest of the film adaptations of his work. The author notoriously hated Stanley Kubrick’s version of his novel The Shining. “It’s like a big beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside it,” he previously told Deadline about the beloved horror flick.