The Monkey
Osgood Perkins’The Monkeysets a promising hereafter for Stephen King ’s theatrical adaptations , ending the author ’s six - class rotten pic adaptation stripe on Rotten Tomatoes . Notably , the golden age ofStephen King movie adaptationsis the ' 80s and ' 90s , with a total of 29 motion picture , including all - time classic likeThe Shining , Stand by Me , The Shawshank Redemption , andThe Dead Zone . Though a few modern film by rising directors claim top places among the serious King movies , the last 10 has seen legion King adaptations with dreaded response .
Notably , Stephen King ’s work remain a Brobdingnagian generator of intake and stay on , more than ever , to bring forth motion-picture show and TV projects that attract audiences to the author ’s varied and , sometimes shocking , imaginings . In late year , movies that made the bad changes to Stephen King ’s bookshave result in fans of the gifted author experience far-flung letdown that corrupt celluloid bearing the King impression . However , The Monkey ’s positive reviewsforeshadow a resurgence of great King adaptations — with great genre directors like Perkins , Mike Flanagan , and Edgar Wright all coiffe to resign one in 2025 .
The Monkey Is The First Stephen King Movie In 6 Years That’s Not Divisive On RT
Recent Remakes Of Stephen King Movie Adaptations Have Terrible Scores
The Monkeyis now the first King movie certified fresh since Mike Flanagan’sDoctor Sleep , both movies receiving a 78 % score . Notably , Flanagan garnered an impressive 91 % musical score for the Netflix releaseGerald ’s Gameand is set to deliver another acclaimed Stephen King adaptation withThe Life of Chuckthis yr . However , Perkins ' unexpected succeeder — withStephen King ’s reactions toThe Monkeypraising its expectant portmanteau word of comedy and horror — redeems the rotted adaptation of recent years , whose critics ' scores range between as low as 11 % and as mellow as 62 % .
Stephen King Movies From The Last 6 Years
Title
Critics ' Score
Audience Score
The Monkey(2025 )
Custom Image by Cece Montemayor
78 %
60 %
' Salem ’s Lot(2024 )
46 %
38 %
The Boogeyman(2023 )
61 %
66 %
Firestarter(2022 )
10 %
47 %
Mr. Harrigan ’s Phone(2022 )
50 %
Children of the Corn(2020 )
11 %
Pet Sematary(2019 )
57 %
33 %
Doctor Sleep(2019 )
89 %
In The Tall Grass(2019 )
35 %
It : Chapter Two(2019 )
62 %
It ’s not unusual that three out of ten late adaptations are remake of movies from the ' 80s , one from the ' 70s , and another from the ' ninety , as that period still holds the most dear King book - to - screen adaptations . However , the intent to bring back the winner of the originals has rarely pay off , withFirestarterandChildren of the Cornreceiving terrible review , and’Salem ’s LotandPet Semataryfailing to stand out . There are plenty ofStephen King stories good than their motion picture , and lately , adaption have fallen prey to those vice .
Why So Many Stephen King Movies Haven’t Worked Lately
Recent Stephen King Movies Betray The Books Or Fail To Adapt Them To Film
Notably , an patent weakness in late King movie adaptations is the abject quality of straight - to - streaming motion-picture show , withFirestarterproducing a Razzie Awards controversyfor its acting . Another vulgar critique is that theybetray the source fabric or indulge in a reimagining that does n’t take into account what rooter loveabout the narrative in the first place , such asChildren of the CornandThe Boogeyman . Naturally , Almighty have also shin to accommodate works written 30 or 40 days ago , with some themes or concepts fall unawares of today ’s film and genre standards , but too many version have fail to captivate what made the taradiddle resonate in the first place .
Stephen King drops a surprise annunciation that he is write young material for Mike Flanagan ’s Dark Tower version after writing on The Stand .
Alternatively , in search forStephen King stories that have n’t been adapted yet , some writers have opted for his myopic story , producing movies that suffer from a thin and dragged storyline , likeMr . Harrigan ’s PhoneandIn The Tall Grass . Additionally , some fall to the side when compared to earlier devotee - favorite adaptations , as they either give out to replicate their accomplishments or do n’t offer anything Modern . Lastly , it has been said that some of King ’s stories are unadaptable , highlight that there ’s always something missing when read a Holy Scripture to silver screen , sometimes in ways that make it challenging for an adaptation to flourish .
2025 Looks Like An Amazing Year For Stephen King Movies
2025 Brings The Release Of Mike Flanagan’s And Edgar Wright’s Stephen King Adaptations
It ’s hard to convey in film all the little and affecting details of King ’s prose , that is , unless you are one of the most experient director and screenwriters of the genre . Perkins and Flanagan have examine to be capable of doing so , andEdgar Wright is set to be the next to try it as his adaptation ofThe Running Mancomes out this year . hope are that Wright ’s remaking ride out truer to the origin fabric , unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger ’s 1987 eponymic film , which was too campy for King ’s partisan .
Flanagan ’s atmospherical and theatrical role - driven horror has been take down to accommodate the writer ’s stories absolutely , making critics coin the conductor the newfangled king of King .
However , 2025 ’s long - expect adaptation isMike Flanagan’sThe Life of Chuck , as it had an amazing reception at the Toronto Film Festival , make a score that surpasses evenThe Monkey . Flanagan ’s atmospherical and grapheme - driven revulsion has been note to beseem the author ’s stories perfectly , making critic coin the director the unexampled king of King . However , Wright’sShaun of the Deadlikens Perkin ’s over - the - top panache , which all butconfirms another ground - divulge movie that pave the way for an exciting fresh era of Stephen King version .
Sources : Rotten Tomatoes
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