The Monkey (2025) on Netflix
Twin brothers Hal and Bill find their absent father's wind-up toy monkey in the attic. Whoever winds its key sets off a chain of bizarre, fatal accidents around them.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb5.9/1097,600 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes77%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1999, Hal and Bill's father tries to return a wind-up drum-playing monkey at an antiques shop, and the drumming sets off a fatal chain reaction there. He disappears soon after, leaving Lois to bring up the twins alone. The brothers come across the monkey among their father's possessions and turn the key. Twenty-five years on, Hal is estranged from his family and from his son Petey, whose stepfather plans to adopt him. Bill, the twin Hal has not spoken to in years, calls to say he believes the monkey has come back, and Hal drives to his aunt's house to search for it.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Monkey (2025)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Osgood Perkins said he told producers Atomic Monster that their "very serious" script did not work for him, because in The Monkey the people around the toy monkey all die in insane ways, adding: "Well, I'm an expert on that. Both my parents died in insane, headline-making ways."
- The film replaces the cymbal-banging monkey of Stephen King's original short story with a drum, because its producer believed The Walt Disney Company owned the rights to the cymbals through the toy's appearance in Toy Story 3; Osgood Perkins preferred the drum as it enhanced the horror.
- The Monkey's official trailer amassed over 43 million views online within 24 hours and over 100 million after 72 hours, which, according to distributor Neon, made it the most watched independent horror film trailer ever.
- In late January 2025, four major television networks all rejected a trailer for The Monkey, citing the film's "excessive violence", and Neon hit back by releasing redacted screenshots of the email discussions with the networks.
