Tragic real-life deaths that inspired 'insane' new Stephen King adaptation The Monkey

The latest big-screen adaptation of a Stephen King classic has hit cinemas, with King himself calling Osgood Perkins' interpretation of his 1980 story "b*****t insane". The film has been described by early-viewers as "sadistic" and a "chaotic bloodbath".

The story centres around two twins haunted by a cursed wind-up monkey involved in numerous odd deaths. Twenty five years later, it returns to wreak further mayhem, compelling the brothers to face their cymbal-clashing adversary again.

The official synopsis reads: "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."

Although the movie is an adaptation of King's short story with the same title, it also incorporates elements from director Osgood Perkins’ personal history with tragedy. At its core, the film involves bizarre fatalities, something Perkins knows too well.

Perkins is the son of Anthony Perkins, the celebrated actor known for his portrayal of Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. His father passed away from AIDS-related complications in 1992 without ever disclosing his sexuality, reports the Mirror.

Meanwhile Perkins' mother was Berry Berenson, a model, actress and photographer who tragically passed away at the age of 53, just nine years after his father's death. She was a passenger on the first plane that struck New York's World Trade Center on September 11.

Perkins often includes references to his family in his films, dedicating his second film, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, to his father. His film Longlegs is a tribute to his mother, focusing on a parent who conceals aspects of her child's life until she is forced to confront them.

In an interview with Vulture, Perkins shared: "My father was a homosexual man, or at least a bisexual man, who had a life that wasn’t reconcilable with his family life. For us, growing up, we just weren’t given that language. We weren’t given that access. Instead, there was a narrative put on things about what the family was like and how we were together and how my dad was. The challenge of rectifying what I felt I understood and what I was being told is the genesis for the mother that chooses to be complicit in a story.”

His inspiration for The Monkey is even more explicit. In a candid interview with Empire, he explained why he decided to approach the topic of mass murder with a touch of humour.

"I spent a lot of my life recovering from tragedy, feeling quite bad. It all seemed inherently unfair. You personalise the grief: 'Why is this happening to me?' But I'm older now and you realise this s*** happens to everyone. Everyone dies. Sometimes in their sleep, sometimes in truly insane ways, like I experienced. But everyone dies. And I thought maybe the best way to approach that insane notion is with a smile."

The Monkey is now out in cinemas