The Monkey, the new film from Longlegs director Osgood Perkins, has unveiled its first trailer.
The supernatural horror, which is based on Stephen King’s 1980 short story, follows twin brothers Hal and Bill (both played by Theo James) as they reconnect to quell the threat of a cursed toy, which they discovered in their childhood.
Ahead of its release in February 2025, the 45-second teaser certainly makes a bold first impression, with James shown in character as he – along with the room he’s in – is soaked with blood.
Related: Longlegs' Osgood Perkins responds to Silence of the Lambs comparison
In addition to James, the cast for The Monkey includes Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell and Sarah Levy, with James Wan – best known for his work in The Conjuring universe – producing the feature.
Perkins recently shot to newfound fame with the horror-thriller Longlegs, which follows an FBI agent (Maika Monroe) as they track down the titular serial killer (Nicolas Cage), who is terrorising the state of Oregon with a slew of murders.
What to Read Next
Perkins, who wrote the screenplay in addition to directing, recently explained the choice of name for the villain, sharing: “We writers just like words. We like how certain words sound and look and shape and feel.
Related: Best film and TV tours for 2024
“Yeah, it has daddy longlegs and a creepy-crawly aspect to it, but it also feels ’70s to me – almost like a Led Zeppelin song or someone would have on the side of their van, something groovy like that.”
“It feels like a vintage word that people wouldn’t toss around much today. It positioned the movie in a weird place. You don’t get to fully understand it. It doesn’t fully fit, which is more alluring to me and creates a curiosity that I think is important,” he added.
The Monkey is scheduled to be released in February 2025. Longlegs is in cinemas now.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
