“The Monkey proves that the deadliest curses often come in the smallest packages.”
“The Monkey (2025)” creeps into cinemas as a chilling new adaptation of Stephen King’s classic short story, transforming a simple toy into a harbinger of relentless doom. Directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel), this horror film skillfully weaves supernatural terror with the psychological unraveling of a man haunted by childhood horrors that refuse to die.
The story centers on Hal Sheridan (played by Bill Skarsgård), who returns to his childhood home after the death of his estranged father. While clearing out dusty boxes in the attic, Hal discovers an old, rusted toy monkey—the kind with cymbals that clang together in a shrill, metallic crash. But this is no ordinary toy. Every time the monkey’s cymbals clap, someone connected to Hal dies under mysterious, often gruesome circumstances.
Hal tries to discard it, bury it, even destroy it—but the monkey keeps coming back. As the bodies pile up, Hal realizes he must trace the curse’s origins, plunging him into dark family secrets and an evil that seems tied to the very fabric of his bloodline. Meanwhile, the monkey’s eyes glow with a malevolent light, its cymbals ever poised to strike again.
Visually, “The Monkey” is steeped in eerie atmosphere. Perkins paints each frame with shadows and flickering lights, using lingering close-ups and creeping camerawork to create a suffocating sense of dread. The monkey itself is a nightmarish creation: matted fur, chipped paint, and teeth bared in a frozen, sinister grin.
Yet the film is not only about jump scares. Skarsgård delivers a raw, desperate performance as a man grappling with fate, guilt, and the horrifying idea that some family curses can never be broken. The narrative taps into primal fears—that the sins of the past can claw their way into the present, and that evil sometimes hides in the most innocent-looking places.
By the film’s nerve-fraying climax, “The Monkey (2025)” ensures you’ll never look at a toy the same way again.
