What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Monkey
Film · 2025
If you loved The Monkey, start with Haunted Hotel (Matt Roller, 2025) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Monkey across media.
What hooked you in The Monkey was the way ancient, cursed objects force estranged family members to confront their darkest shared trauma.
Books on the same thread
Play Nice
Rachel Harrison · Book
Explores: inherited trauma, grief, family secrets.
Like the cursed toy in The Monkey, this story explores how inherited trauma and family secrets manifest through supernatural forces to threaten the bond between siblings.
Demon Slayer
Koyoharu Gotoge · Book · 2018
Explores: Sibling Bond, Grief, Moral Duty.
If the sibling rivalry in The Monkey kept you glued to the screen, you will appreciate this intense focus on a brother protecting his transformed sister from monstrosity.
Cursed Daughters: A Read with Jenna Pick
Oyinkan Braithwaite · Book · 2025
Explores: generational trauma, female rivalry, superstition.
Much like the protagonist in The Monkey, the lead character here must contend with a lingering family curse, blending dark humor with the weight of generational secrets.
Fairy Tale
Stephen King · Book
Explores: coming of age, good versus evil, interdimensional travel.
The Monkey uses a cursed object to bridge the gap between normalcy and horror, a structural beat that mirrors this tale of a shed serving as a dark portal.
Series on the same thread
IT: Welcome to Derry
Andy Muschietti · Series · 2025
Explores: Childhood Trauma, Ancient Evil, Group of Friends.
If the long-buried, ancient evil in The Monkey resonated with you, this investigation into a small town's dark history provides the same sense of dread and mystery.
Haunted Hotel
Matt Roller · Series · 2025
Explores: Inheritance, Single Parent, Ghostly Coexistence.
This series takes the inheritance of a cursed legacy found in The Monkey and shifts it into a supernatural comedy, focusing on the chaos of living with ghosts.
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball
Ben Bocquelet · Series · 2025
Explores: Subversion of Reality, Family Dynamics, Small Town Life.
The Monkey balances outrageous horror with a unique, surreal tone; this series captures that same sense of a reality where family life is consistently subverted by absurdity.
Your Friends & Neighbors
Jonathan Tropper · Series · 2025
Shares a thread with The Monkey: dark comedy.
Just as the characters in The Monkey spiral due to a cursed object, this protagonist descends into moral decay as he begins robbing his own neighborhood for thrills.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Orphans
The Light and Tragic Company · Podcast · 2025
If the theme of lost connections in The Monkey intrigued you, this audio drama offers a similar exploration of strangers and survivors grappling with love and loss.
CounterClock
Audiochuck · Podcast · 2025
Explores: unsolved homicide, seeking justice, historical mystery.
The Monkey relies on the tension of a decades-old mystery resurfacing; this podcast mirrors that structure by digging into historical homicides to uncover long-buried, dark truths.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Monkey based on a story about twin brothers?
Yes, The Monkey follows twin brothers who discover a mysterious wind-up toy that triggers a series of outrageous deaths within their family. The plot centers on their estrangement and their eventual need to confront the cursed object after it begins a new killing spree twenty-five years later.
What happens to the brothers in The Monkey?
In The Monkey, the twin brothers are torn apart by a series of deaths caused by a wind-up toy. Twenty-five years after the initial events, the brothers become estranged but are forced to reunite to confront the cursed toy when it begins a new killing spree.
Does The Monkey involve a cursed wind-up toy?
Yes, The Monkey features a mysterious wind-up monkey that serves as the catalyst for the events in the film. The toy is responsible for a series of deaths that tear the protagonists' family apart and later initiates a second killing spree decades after the brothers first find it.
How much time passes in The Monkey?
The narrative of The Monkey spans twenty-five years. The story begins when the twin brothers first find the mysterious wind-up monkey and experience family tragedy, then jumps forward twenty-five years to when the toy begins a new killing spree and forces the brothers to confront the curse.