New ‘The Monkey’ Poster Pays Homage to Paul Schrader’s ‘Hardcore’

Film production company NEON continues to prove itself a master of marketing its titles, as the publicity campaign for The Monkey continues to intrigue and get people excited for Osgood Perkins’ next horror movie. Ranging from everything to respiratory stimulants to large and ominous billboards, The Monkey’s marketing campaign has worked hard to help distinguish the movie from the rest of the major films due for release this month. Case in point: the newest theatrical poster for the movie is an homage to Paul Schrader’s 1979 film, Hardcore.

The poster features a quote from one of Theo James’ characters at the center, saying, “The Monkey that likes killing our family… It’s back.” The memorable poster for Schrader’s Hardcore has a quote about the main character’s daughter, with both posters featuring the film’s leading actor in the middle right section. It’s a clever homage that helps reinforce The Monkey’s stylistic and thematic similarities to the exploitative cinema of the 1970s.

Schrader’s Hardcore is a deep-cut reference, showing that NEON is willing to go the extra mile for its movie fans who also have a deep knowledge of films made decades ago. This new poster for The Monkey edges more on parody than homage, as initial reactions to the film have stated that it is as hilarious as it is unsettling. In contrast, Schrader’s tale of revenge and exploration of the adult film industry is a much more self-serious movie.

The Marketing of ‘The Monkey’ is NEON At Its Best

If anything, this new Hardcore poster for The Monkey is a sign that fans can expect plenty of graphic imagery, though not in the sexual nature that Schrader’s film made so prevalent. Perkins’ new movie has been described as brutal and poignant, further showing some slight similarities to Hardcore. Any other comparisons to the film would be a reach, but both posters do the same effective job of keeping an ominous feeling about the movie that could get viewers curious enough to check it out.

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NEON’s marketing was similar to Perkins’ previous film, Longlegs. One such creative decision involved choosing to hide Nicolas Cage’s appearance as the titular character until closer to release. Moreover, the film creatively made some trailers that were only available before movie screenings in theaters, not uploading them online. There was also a conspiracy theory website about the Longlegs killer that would further immerse fans into the world of the movie, giving the killings in Longlegs a creepier authenticity to them.

Overall, The Monkey has developed impressive momentum in the lead-up to its release. NEON has a lot of confidence in the movie, as evidenced by the numerous early screenings taking place over the next week before its wide release on Feb. 21. With a 91% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 23 reviews, The Monkey will hopefully attract general audiences and find financial success as well. Even if you don’t know about Schrader’s film Hardcore, The Monkey’s parody poster is still striking enough to get people interested in the movie due to what little it shows, and the amusing quote placed at the center.

The Monkey

Release Date

February 19, 2025

Runtime

98 Minutes

Director

Osgood Perkins

Writers

Osgood Perkins

Producers

John Rickard, Natalia Safran, Ali Jazayeri, Chris Ferguson, Fred Berger, Giuliana Bertuzzi, James Wan, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, John Friedberg, Jason Cloth, David Gendron, Michael Clear, Jesse Savath, Peter Luo, Dave Caplan

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