2025’s Top Stephen King Horror Hits Streaming Next Month

Stephen King fans have had a lot to enjoy this year, with several new movies based on his stories hitting screens. Most of King’s classic films, like The Shining and Carrie, were made before the 2000s. He’s also known for some non-horror favorites like The Green Mile and Stand by Me.

One of the latest King movies, The Life of Chuck, isn’t a horror film. It didn’t do well in theaters, but critics liked it, giving it an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

There’s still more King content coming this year. Francis Lawrence is directing The Long Walk, and Edgar Wright is working on a remake of The Running Man. But one of the King movies that’s already out has just been given a streaming release date.

The Monkey, directed by Osgood Perkins, is based on King’s short story with the same name. The film follows twin brothers who find a creepy old toy monkey in their attic. This toy is connected to scary and violent events that change their lives. The Monkey will be available to stream on Hulu starting August 7.

The Monkey first came out in U.S. theaters on February 21, 2025. It stars Theo James playing both twins. Other actors in the film include Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott, and Elijah Wood. The movie mixes dark comedy with horror and got mostly good reviews. It made almost $69 million worldwide, which is impressive considering it had a $10 to $11 million budget.

The story begins in 1999 with Petey Shelburn trying to return a wind-up toy monkey at an antique shop. When the toy starts playing drums, a deadly accident happens. Petey then disappears, and his wife Lois raises their twin sons, Hal and Bill. When the twins find the monkey and wind it up, bad things start to happen — including a shocking accident with their babysitter.

On Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of critics gave The Monkey positive reviews, with an average score of 6.7 out of 10. The site says, “Cruelly clever with some unforgettably gory set pieces, The Monkey reaffirms director Osgood Perkins’ horror bona fides while revealing he also has a surprising – albeit sick – sense of humor.”

Metacritic gave the movie a score of 62 out of 100, which means the reviews were generally good. Audiences were mixed — CinemaScore gave it a “C+” and about half of viewers said they would recommend it according to PostTrak.

Now that The Monkey is coming to Hulu, Stephen King fans can watch this creepy and darkly funny story from home. It’s already one of the best King adaptations of the 2020s, mixing horror and humor in a fresh way.

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