The Monkey Shows What Not To Do In Stephen King Films

Mike Flanagan has built a strong reputation as a filmmaker who understands the delicate balance of adapting Stephen King‘s work. With acclaimed projects like Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game, Flanagan has managed to bring King’s stories to life while maintaining their eerie atmosphere and psychological depth. However, as Flanagan prepares for his ambitious adaptation of The Dark Tower, he has a cautionary tale to learn from: The Monkey.

Directed by Oz Perkins, The Monkey took a vastly different approach from its source material, shifting the tone of King’s chilling short story into something resembling a dark comedy. The results, as reflected by Rotten Tomatoes audience scores, suggest that this was a miscalculation. The film’s reception highlights the risks of straying too far from King’s original intent, and Mike Flanagan should take note as he moves forward with his own King adaptations.

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The Monkey Went In The Wrong Direction

The Monkey is based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name, a terrifying tale about a cursed toy monkey whose cymbals bring about death whenever they clash. The story is pure horror, leaning into supernatural dread and psychological terror. However, Perkins’ adaptation took a completely different route, shifting the horror-driven narrative into what can only be described as a bizarre mix of absurdity and dark comedy with some heavy gore mixed in.

While Perkins has previously demonstrated a knack for unsettling horror with films like I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and Gretel & Hansel, his interpretation of The Monkey bewildered many fans. Rather than embracing the tension and suspense that made the original story so effective, the film injected humor and offbeat character dynamics that clashed with the source material’s inherent horror. This drastic tonal shift alienated audiences who were expecting a faithful and terrifying adaptation.

The lesson here is clear: when adapting Stephen King, changing the tone too drastically can backfire. Fans of King’s work expect psychological complexity, mounting dread, and a sense of genuine horror. Perkins’ experiment with The Monkey serves as a reminder that veering too far from these core elements can lead to a misfire.

Beyond the tonal shift, the film’s pacing and narrative structure further frustrated audiences. The short story’s creeping dread was replaced with erratic storytelling that struggled to maintain suspense. The most effective horror films build tension steadily, but The Monkey often undercut its own fear factor by inserting humor at key moments.

Mike Flanagan has already proven that he understands Stephen King’s horror, but The Monkey should reinforce for him the importance of staying true to the source material. His upcoming adaptation of The Dark Tower will be one of his most ambitious projects yet, given that King’s sprawling fantasy-horror series has long been considered difficult to translate into film or television.

Flanagan’s success with Doctor Sleep came from his ability to honor both King’s novel and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, finding a middle ground that respected both works while adding his own signature style. He’ll need to approach The Dark Tower with the same careful balance. While he has the creative freedom to make necessary changes for a television format, staying faithful to King’s intricate world-building and character development is crucial.

If The Monkey serves as an example of what not to do, then Doctor Sleep is a testament to what can be done right. Instead of reimagining The Dark Tower into something unrecognizable, Flanagan should lean into the series’ rich mythology, its blend of horror and fantasy, and the deeply personal journey of its protagonist, Roland Deschain. The audience for The Dark Tower is already well-versed in King’s vision, and they won’t respond well to a drastic departure from what makes the series so compelling.

The poor reception of The Monkey should serve as a warning: Stephen King’s fanbase is passionate and has high expectations and wants to see his actual stories on the big or small screen. Taking over an adaptation and making it “your own” isn’t the way to go here. Flanagan has the experience and skill to bring King’s stories to life in a way that satisfies both longtime fans and newcomers, but he must ensure that his adaptations respect the tone and themes that define King’s storytelling.

In the end, it appears that The Monkey was a risk that didn’t pay off as much as it could have, based on audience scores. Mike Flanagan now has the opportunity to learn from Perkins’ mistakes. By keeping the core emotional weight intact in his King adaptations, he can avoid the pitfalls that tripped up Perkins and deliver projects that truly do justice to the master of horror’s works. With The Dark Tower and other projects in development, Flanagan has the potential to cement himself as one of the definitive directors of Stephen King adaptations—if he remembers to respect what makes the source material so effective in the first place.

The Monkey

Release Date

February 19, 2025

Runtime

98 Minutes

Director

Osgood Perkins

Writers

Osgood Perkins

Producers

John Rickard, Natalia Safran, Ali Jazayeri, Chris Ferguson, Fred Berger, Giuliana Bertuzzi, James Wan, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, John Friedberg, Jason Cloth, David Gendron, Michael Clear, Jesse Savath, Peter Luo, Dave Caplan

Cast

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