Osgood "Oz" Perkins, the director in charge of the upcoming Stephen King film The Monkey, has revealed some of his favorite works by the author behind titles like It, The Shining and Salem's Lot. Perkins is the latest Hollywood visionary to bring one of King's works to the big screen.

That introspection served “Longlegs,” one of the best horror films of 2024, well. But “The Monkey,” based on a Stephen King short story, about the son of an absent father who is now a distant father to his own son, seems cheaper. Its thick layer of offhanded glibness masks a profound emptiness of spirit.