Stephen Kingremains one of the biggest names in horror. He’s released dozens of iconic novels and short stories in the genre over the last 50 years, and many of these have now been adapted into feature films. Movies likeCarrie(1976),The Shining(1980),Misery(1990), andIt(2017) were all well-received by critics, as were non-horror adaptations likeStand by Me(1986) andThe Shawshank Redemption(1994).
The sheer volume of adaptations means, however, that not all works based on King stories will be winners. The last few years have been particularly unkind in this regard, withreviews forSalem’s Lot(2024),Mr. Harrigan’s Phone(2022),Firestarter(2022),Children of the Corn(2020), andIn the Tall Grass(2019), all being generally negative from critics. Since 2017, the only King adaptations to earn positive reviews areIt,1922(2017),Doctor Sleep(2019), andThe Boogeyman(2023), but another title has just joined that list.
The Monkey Is Off To A Great Start On Rotten Tomatoes
The Critics' Score Bodes Well For The Stephen King Adaptation
The Monkeyhas now debuted on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s the highest score for a King adaptation in eight years. Directed by Osgood Perkins, the upcoming King movie tells the story of twin brothers Hal and Bill (Theo James) as they find themselves haunted by the same toy monkey that caused a series of gruesome deaths when they were children.The Monkeymarks the latest King adaptationafterSalem’s Lot, and it serves as Osgood’s follow-up toLonglegs, which was a surprise horror hit last summer.
Every Stephen King Movie Ranked, From Worst To Best
Stephen King is one of the most adapted authors of all time, and the bestselling horror writer has over 50 movies released to his name.
Rotten Tomatoesnow reveals with a new post on X, formerly Twitter, thatThe Monkeyhas debuted with a 91% critics' score from 11 reviews. On the Rotten Tomatoes site itself, the score is, as of writing, up to 92% with 13 reviews, and this score will likely continue to fluctuate as more reviews are added. This makes it the highest-scoring King adaptation since 2017’s1922, which also has 92%, as seen in the chart below:
16%
85%
91%
1922
92%
57%
35%
78%
Children of the Corn
11%
10%
46%
61%
What The Monkey’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Means For The Movie
Will It Be A Hit In Theaters?
Though only about a dozen reviews have rolled in, the general sentiment towardsThe Monkeyis clearly very positive so far.Critics have praised the movie’s effective pacing, over-the-top violence, and humor as key strengths, with James' leading performance also a highlight. The positive response from critics could suggest thatThe Monkeywill be a win with audiences as well, and this would ultimately translate into a strong showing at the box office.
In addition to James,The Monkeystars Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, Sarah Levy, and Laura Mennell.
Perkins’Longlegsfound successlast year in part because of its extremely effective marketing campaign, andThe Monkeyhas also been ramping up the marketing in recent months, playing up the film’s zany humor and extreme amounts of blood. It remains to be seen whether this marketing campaign will be enough to get audiences into theaters, butThe Monkey’s Rotten Tomatoes debut has just set the film up for success.
