What to know:
- Kalshi’s market on The Monkey has seen over $75,000 in bets, with a predicted Rotten Tomatoes score of 82.8.
- Four out of five horror releases this year earned Certified Fresh ratings so far.
- With Longlegs (86%) becoming a mainstream horror hit and only one of his previous four films receiving a Rotten rating, director Osgood Perkins has proven he can deliver a critically successful horror film.
The Monkey is the latest indie horror film attempting to scare up positive critical reception. The film will be released in United States theaters on Feb. 21, 2025.
With over $75,000 in trading volume, the top prediction market Kalshi has had users betting on the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score since the beginning of February. The lowest forecasted score was 76.7 and the highest was 90.1. Now, the predicted score has leveled out at 82.8.
Before betting on The Monkey, here’s what you need to know about the movie, Rotten Tomatoes trends for this genre, and early reviews and reactions.
What is ‘The Monkey’?
The Monkey is the latest adaptation of a Stephen King story. This is a 1980 short story first published in the Gallery magazine. Conversations about this project have been circulating since the aughts but was officially announced to be in development in 2023.
When twin brothers find a mysterious wind-up monkey, a series of outrageous deaths tear their family apart. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree forcing the estranged brothers to confront the cursed toy.
Directed by Osgood Perkins, the film’s cast includes Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy. The independent horror film was shot at the beginning of 2024 and purchased by Neon in May 2024.
Critical reception of horror movies in 2025
While we are only in the second month of 2025, there have been a handful of horror movies released already. Let’s take a look at their critical reception.
| Movie | Rotten Tomatoes Score |
| The Damned (2025) | 90% |
| Wolf Man (2025) | 51% |
| Presence (2025) | 89% |
| Companion (2025) | 94% |
| Heart Eyes (2025) | 81% |
While horror movies tend to struggle with a positive critical reception, 2025 has been a good year for horror movies thus far. Four out of the five horror films are Certified Fresh and have been received exceptionally well.
Only Wolf Man has a Rotten score. Presence is also a movie bought by Neon and has a high Rotten Tomatoes score.
The director Perkins has directed four previous films –
- I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) – 59%
- The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2017) – 77%
- Gretel & Hansel (2020) – 63%
- Longlegs (2024) – 86%
One of his past films has a Rotten score but Gretel & Hansel is not far off. His most recent work Longlegs performed well and was a mainstream success.
All four of these films are horror and display his experience with the genre. With all his past films performing generally well, it is unlikely this film will receive a Rotten score.
Early reviews of ‘The Monkey’
As of now, The Monkey has 27 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and an 89% score. All the Top Critics have left Fresh reviews and only three of all the reviews were Rotten.
AV Club’s Katie Rife claims the film is “a 180 from Longlegs, this Stephen King adaptation is a ridiculous, broad, pitch-black horror-comedy.” While Empire Magazine’s Jamie Graham says “the best scenes here are a gory glory.”
There also seems to be a lot of anticipation for the film. The film’s official trailer garnered over 43 million views online in the first 24 hours and in three days had over 100 million views.
THE MONKEY is one of the most Bat Shit crazy horror films I've seen in YEARS! Osgood Perkins goes full throttle in a demented film about facing consequences. A bloody, grizzly, hilariously bonkers film that tries to out do itself kill after kill. #TheMonkey pic.twitter.com/57SFrkcO2B
— Junior Felix (@JuniorFett) January 18, 2025
With The Monkey’s favorable reviews thus far, positive early social media reactions, and a recent strong critical reception for Longlegs, the film is poised to have a Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
