“Creepy” teaser for Longlegs director’s next horror movie leaks online

Osgood Perkins, the director behind horror sensation Longlegs, is returning next year with a new movie: The Monkey, and its teaser trailer has leaked online.

After its incredible viral marketing and hard-to-believe rave reactions, Longlegs lived up to the hype as one of the best movies of 2024.

It’s only been a month since it hit cinemas, but Perkins already has a new Neon horror movie in the works: The Monkey, an adaptation of Stephen King’s terrifying short story about – you guessed it – a cursed toy monkey.

The film is set for release on February 21, 2025, and those who saw Trap or Cuckoo over the weekend were treated to a sneak peek – and that teaser has since leaked online.

It’s an unsettling teaser, with the toy monkey drumming while warped circus music plays. We get a brief look at Theo James’ character covered in blood and looking frightened, before the title card and release date drops.

“Saw The Monkey teaser trailer before Cuckoo. It’s rad as hell, a true blue teaser trailer, and makes great use of that creepy cymbal monkey image. Oz Perkins + Stephen King = bring it on,” one user reacted. “The Monkey! What a fun little teaser! Osgood Perkins is a madman,” another posted.

What we know about The Monkey

Here’s the official synopsis for The Monkey: “When twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them.

“The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.”

According to Perkins, it “couldn’t be less like Longlegs… It’s gonna feel more like Misery or Creepshow or Gremlins or American Werewolf,” he told Bloody Disgusting.

“It’s sorta like, if Robert Zemeckis had just like a LITTLE bit of acid and made a Stephen King picture about a monkey toy. For me, ideally it’s the movie that kids and their parents wanna go see together.”

Christian Convery, best known for Netflix’s Sweet Tooth, will play the twins as children, with James taking on the dual roles as adults. The film also stars Elijah Wood, She-Hulk’s Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy.

In the meantime, read our ranking of the best horror movies ever made, and check out our guides on Smile 2, 28 Years Later, and other new movies coming out this month.