The trailer for the upcoming Stephen King horror adaptation, The Monkey, has been banned from broadcast over its use of "excessive violence".
Starring Theo James and based on a short story by King, The Monkey tells the story of a pair of twin brothers who team up to destroy a cursed toy monkey from their past.
Directed by Longlegs' Osgood Perkins, the movie has been compared to the Final Destination franchise for its inventive and gruesome deaths, many of which feature heavily in the official trailer.
Related: Josh Hartnett's cult '90s horror is getting a remake
According to its distributor Neon, the trailer has apparently been banned by a number of TV networks for its gory content.
Sharing the news via an Instagram post, Neon revealed that four broadcasters turned down the promotional video, apparently refusing to air the trailer.
What to Read Next
"We submitted a TV spot for THE MONKEY to the four major TV networks," it shared alongside a screenshot of a number of email interactions with the unnamed broadcasters. "It did not go well."
Related: Scream 7 is bringing back one of horror's most iconic killers
"The spot below would not be permitted in any programming," one broadcaster employee explained, thanks to the horror trailer's "excessive violence".
In the email exchange the distributor asks the broadcaster to "outline the exact issues" to make the trailer suitable for TV, with the reply suggesting that almost the whole trailer was unsuitable.
"Typically, we would do that, but in this case, it's pretty much every scene in the spot," their reply read. "It's excessively violent with blood spatter, graphic images, severed heads."
An email from a different broadcaster read: "It's been determined that the film / creative is too violent to air", with another message saying the trailer was "not suitable for our audiences, even with restrictions".
Another email chain asked the distributor to "please submit alternative creative without excessive blood and gore".
The Monkey will be released in cinemas on February 21.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
