Plenty of horror movies have found their way into churches, but The Monkey has become the first ever film to screen in them and theatres simultaneously across America. All you’ve got to do is fill out a form to have the horrifying little nuisance pay a visit.
The new movie stars Theo James as two twin brothers who find themselves haunted by a cursed toy monkey that leaves a trail of horrific accidental deaths behind it. Of course, these instances aren’t accidents—it’s the monkey. The film is adapted from a short story penned by Stephen King (some small-time author, the name sounds familiar) in 1980, which eventually made its way into his short story collection, Skeleton Crew. King himself called the adaptation of his story “batshit insane.”
You can see if your local church would be eligible to host the film directed by Longlegs helmer Osgood Perkins by visiting godsbowlingstrikestonight.com. There, you’ll be asked in 100 characters or less as to why your church should be considered blessed by a visit from The Monkey.
The wild bit of marketing lines up perfectly with the tone Perkins aimed to achieve with his take on the King short story. In an interview with SFX Magazine, the director explained, “I took a playful horror shine to it right away. That was important to me from the get-go with this project, that it wasn’t going to be dreadfully sombre. It was going to be more comedic and cosy, which I think seemed correct for a movie about a toy. I wanted to steer away from the more serious movies about possessed toys, which don’t ring true for me.”
The Monkey will be making its way into theaters on February 21. Get our verdict on the movie here.