'Never seen anything like it': Stephen King applauds 'bats*** insane' horror film The Monkey

Stephen King has praised new horror film The Monkey as he warned audiences that it is "bat*** insane".

The upcoming film from Longlegs director Osgood Perkins is based on King's 1980 short story of the same name and stars Theo James, Elijah Woods, Tatiana Maslany and Rohan Campbell. It's set to be released in cinemas on February 21.

In the trailer we see people mysteriously dying at the hands of the vintage (and scary looking) toy monkey.

"When twin brothers Bill and Hal find their father's old monkey toy in the attic, a series of deaths start. The siblings decide to throw the toy away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years," according to the IMDb plot synopsis.

If you were wondering just how scary or crazy the film is, then you only need to read King's verdict.

In a post to his 806,000 followers on the Instagram platform Threads, King wrote: "You've never seen anything like THE MONKEY. It's bats*** insane. As someone who has indulged in bats***tery from time to time, I say that with admiration."

Along with King's stamp of approval, reviews are already coming in and have similar descriptions for the film, only adding to the hype of its release.

"'The Monkey' is a super bloody blast!" Collider's Perry Nemioff said. "A nearly non-stop series of gleefully violent kill scenes that well earn every 'holy sh*t' response they got out of me.

"Loved how quickly Oz Perkins cements that this is a version of the Stephen King short story that’s uniquely his own. I like some of his films more than others, but that’s something I often appreciate about his work in general. He always appears to have a clear, bold vision that’s been executed unapologetically."

Mama Geeky's Tessa Smith described it as "over the top in the best way".

"I can't stop thinking about The Monkey. It's like Final Destination on crack. Over the top in the very best way. I can't wait to watch my friends watch it...," she said.

"The Monkey is an absolutely wild, brutal dark comedy filled with aggressively creative deaths that’ll keep audiences glued to their seats laughing the whole time. Fans of Final Destination will feel right at home," The Direct's Russ Milheim commented.

Horror fans won't have long to wait to see the film for themselves as The Monkey is out in cinemas on February 21.

Elsewhere, Stephen King calls out Elon Musk over his 'pro-Trump disinformation' and Stephen King admits there's one horror film he can't sit through.

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