2025 has been a great year for horror film lovers. And one of the year's best scary movies just landed on Hulu.
With a Certified Fresh label and a 78% score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Monkey is now a beloved horror flick. It's based on a short story by the prolific thriller writer Stephen King, and is now streaming on the platform.
"Stephen is widely known as The King of Horror — and for very good reason. The prolific writer is behind some of the most famous horror stories of all time, from The Shining to It, many of which have been brought to life on screen," Nicky Morris, the Deputy TV and Film Editor at Hello! told us. "The Monkey is one of his most recent works to be get the silver screen treatment, and with an impressive cast, the film is guaranteed to be a thoroughly entertaining watch for horror fans."
Starring Theo James and Elijah Wood, The Monkey is a dark comedy that horror fans love. Theo is best known for his work in the second season of The White Lotus and as Four in the Divergent series. But this leap into horror works well.
"There was one scene where I was crawling around on my hands and knees yelping like a dog, there's another one of me crying, there's another one of me licking the microphone when a character appears at the house," Theo told the Los Angeles Times in February. "We went pretty hard on it, and I'm lucky some of that didn't end up in the movie."
What is The Monkey about?
The Monkey follows twins Hal and Bill (both played by Theo) who, after digging around their missing father's closet, find a wind-up monkey toy. When they turn the key to get the monkey to start banging its drums, death starts happening.
Hal and Bill's mom dies. Just before they are forced to move in with relatives, the twins get rid of the toy. Twenty-five years later a freak accident occurs. The adult twins, who have been estranged for some time, are convinced the monkey's curse is still alive and well. The two have to reunite to defeat the monkey.
Aside from Theo and Elijah, The Monkey stars Tatiana Maslany, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Christian Convery, and Adam Scott, among others.
Was The Monkey successful in theaters?
While the film crosses genres, it was successful at the box office. It grossed over $68 million with just an $11 million budget.
Critics loved it as well. "If you're willing to dig past The Monkey's blood and guts, you'll find a thoughtful inquiry into the very different lives of people depending on their response and disposition toward the random, inordinate, and callous suffering around us," wrote Zachary Lee of the Chicago Reader.
A scary movie legacy
The Monkey's director, Osgood Perkins, has scary movies in his blood. His father, Anthony Perkins, is best known for his role as Norman Bates in the iconic horror film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Anthony was later nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Friendly Persuasion.
Osgood has directed several horror movies including Longlegs, which starred Nicolas Cage, and the 2020 film Gretel & Hansel. "Horror movies are how people deal with stuff," Osgood told Interview Magazine.