In Osgood Perkins’ recent film “The Monkey,” a pair of twin brothers named Hal and Bill (both played by Christian Convery as boys, and by Theo James as adults) happen upon an outsize, wind-up drumming monkey toy that once belonged to their absentee father. The monkey has a creepy grin and is clearly cursed. When they wind up the monkey, it randomly causes the death of someone close to them. At first, they think they can control the monkey, but whenever they dispose of it, it always magically returns to them. They also learn that the monkey doesn’t take requests. You wind it up, and it gets to choose its next victim.
Perkins’ movie is a nasty little piece of work, undergirded by a marvelous sense of comedic sadism. The film opens with a scene of a man having his intestines pulled across a room by an errant harpoon, dangling like a gory clothesline. It’s just as much a comedy as a horror film.
“The Monkey” was based on a 1980 short story by Stephen King, first published in Gallery Magazine. It was later collected in the 1985 Stephen King anthology “Skeleton Crew.” The original story is less complicated than the movie, sharing only its central conceit, that is: a wind-up monkey, when activated, mysteriously causes the death of someone nearby.
“The Monkey” was also one of Stephen King’s Dollar Babies. King, as his fans might be able to tell you, has long had a special arrangement with up-and-coming filmmakers and film students who might want to adapt his work as part of their cinema projects. Such filmmakers are allowed to license King stories for only $1. A filmmaker named Spencer Sherry was given $1 access to “The Monkey,” and adapted it into a 60-minute feature in 2023. Sadly, beyond a few festival screenings, the 2023 version of “The Monkey” seems to have vanished. There are no copies online, and it’s not streaming anywhere.
The 2023 version of The Monkey is not available online
The Dollar Baby program, incidentally, has been in effect since 1977, and it has warranted some fascinating shorts from aspiring film students. A 1982 version of “The Boogeyman” was wrought from the program, as was “Disciples of the Crow,” the earliest adaptation of “Children of the Corn.” A 1987 short based on “The Lawnmower Man” also came from the program, and it has nothing to do with the elaborate cyber-thriller of the same name from 1992. Noted filmmakers Frank Darabont and Guy Maddin are also beneficiaries, having made King-based shorts in 1983 and 1988 respectively.
Back in 2021, Spencer Sherry was covered by his local Saratoga, New York newspaper, the Times Union, about his 60-minute version of “The Monkey.” Sherry, only 27, talked about having to split his time shooting “The Monkey” and finals week. He also admits that he’s kind of learning filmmaking as he shoots, not having handled a camera too much in his life. The Time Union article also mentions that “The Monkey” had been optioned in the past, by Frank Darabont himself. Darabont let the option lapse, however, and Sherry was able to get it through the Dollar Baby program. He raised the completion funds via a Kickstarter campaign.
According to its IMDb page, the 2023 version of “The Monkey” premiered in Saratoga Springs on May 6, although there doesn’t seem to be an opening date beyond that. There are some reviews on Letterboxd, but they all seem to be given by people who worked on the movie. The film’s gaffer and the director’s little brother both left reviews (very supportive!). One review mentioned that it was part of a “free local double feature,” while another (very positive) review mentioned that it was shot in the area. Only Saratoga Springs locals seem to have seen it.
What happened to The Monkey (2023)?
Spencer Sherry emerged as a minor local hero after making his version of “The Monkey,” which, according to the reviews, is more of a sequel to Stephen King’s short story than a straight-up adaptation. Osgood Perkins’ 2025 feature is closer to the story itself. Sherry was written up by another local paper, Saratoga Living, where he was commended for his ongoing filmmaking efforts. In addition to “The Monkey,” Sherry was noted as the executive producer on another short called “Anomaly.” He also founded the local filmmaking collective, the 518 Film Network. He may not be a major celebrity yet, but Sherry believes in the craft.
Sherry naturally harbors a small amount of resentment toward Perkins’ movie, noting that Neon’s production was announced only three days after his short premiered at local theaters. He hastily arranged screenings of his own film — “the defending champ,” he called it — in response. It was an effort to “not get completely steamrolled by the Hollywood machine.”
Sherry’s full version of “The Monkey” is not available anywhere, although clips and trailers can be found on the movie’s YouTube channel. Sherry and his compatriots can also be reached through the 518 Film Network website. One might be able to catch wind of “The Monkey” screenings through that website. No copies of “The Monkey” are available for purchase, however.
One might think that Neon, who distributed Perkins’ 2025 movie, would want to reach out and, at the very least, include Sherry’s film on their own Blu-ray release of “The Monkey.” Such an arrangement has not been made, however. It seems that only Saratoga Springs locals will have easy access to it for the time being. Perkins, as far as we know, hasn’t commented on Sherry’s movie.
