2025 Stephen King Horror Movie Debuts With Best Rotten Tomatoes Score For A King Adaptation In 8 Years

Stephen King remains 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 like Carrie (1976), The Shining (1980), Misery (1990), and It (2017) were all well-received by critics, as were non-horror adaptations like Stand by Me (1986) and The 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, with reviews for Salem's Lot (2024), Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022), Firestarter (2022), Children of the Corn (2020), and In the Tall Grass (2019), all being generally negative from critics. Since 2017, the only King adaptations to earn positive reviews are It, 1922 (2017), Doctor Sleep (2019), and The 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

Theo James looking worried behind the wheel of a car in The Monkey

The Monkey has 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 Monkey marks the latest King adaptation after Salem's Lot, and it serves as Osgood's follow-up to Longlegs, which was a surprise horror hit last summer.

Rotten Tomatoes now reveals with a new post on X, formerly Twitter, that The Monkey has 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's 1922, which also has 92%, as seen in the chart below:

Stephen King Adaptation Rotten Tomatoes Scores Since 2017
Title	RT Critics' Score
The Dark Tower	16%
It	85%
Gerald's Game	91%
1922	92%
Pet Sematary	57%
In the Tall Grass	35%
Doctor Sleep	78%
Children of the Corn	11%
Firestarter	10%
Mr. Harrigan's Phone	46%
The Boogeyman	61%
Salem's Lot	46%
The Monkey	91%

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 towards The Monkey is 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 that The Monkey will 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 Monkey stars Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, Sarah Levy, and Laura Mennell.

Perkins' Longlegs found success last year in part because of its extremely effective marketing campaign, and The Monkey has 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, but The Monkey's Rotten Tomatoes debut has just set the film up for success.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes