The Monkey

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As a passionate fan, I can’t help but marvel at NEON’s knack for crafting captivating marketing strategies. The buzz surrounding Osgood Perkins’ upcoming horror masterpiece, The Monkey, just keeps growing stronger day by day. From respiratory stimulants to towering billboards, the promotional efforts for The Monkey have left no stone unturned in setting this movie apart from other releases this month. A perfect example of their innovative approach? The latest poster for the film pays homage to Paul Schrader’s 1979 classic, Hardcore.

The central part of this poster showcases a quote from one of Theo James’ roles, which reads, “The monkey that enjoys slaughtering our family… It’s returned.” The striking design for Schrader’s film, ‘Hardcore’, also includes a quote related to the main character’s daughter. Both posters prominently display the film’s primary actor in the lower right area. This thoughtful nod cleverly highlights the shared aesthetics and themes between ‘The Monkey’ and the exploitative films of the 1970s.

Schrader’s “Hardcore” is a niche nod, indicating that NEON is prepared to take things a step further for their cinema enthusiasts who are well-versed in films from past eras. On the other hand, the poster for “The Monkey” leans towards satire rather than tribute, as the early responses suggest that it’s both hilarious and disquieting. In contrast, Schrader’s film about revenge and delving into the adult film industry is a much more somber and introspective movie.

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

To put it another way, the recently unveiled “Hardcore” poster for “The Monkey” suggests that the audience should anticipate a lot of intense visuals, albeit not of the explicit sexual nature that Schrader’s film is known for. Perkins’ latest work has been characterized as both brutal and poignant, subtly echoing similarities to “Hardcore”. While making further comparisons to the film might be stretching it, both posters share the knack of creating an unsettling atmosphere that could pique viewers’ interest enough to want to see the movie.

NEON’s promotional strategy for their film bore resemblance to Perkins’ earlier production, “Longlegs”. A notable aspect of this strategy was the intriguing choice to keep Nicolas Cage’s portrayal of the main character under wraps until closer to the release date. Furthermore, they opted to distribute select trailers exclusively in cinemas prior to screenings, rather than sharing them online. Additionally, there existed a fictional conspiracy theory website about the “Longlegs” killer, which served to deepen fans’ engagement with the movie’s eerie narrative, thereby adding an authentic, chilling touch to the killings depicted in “Longlegs”.

In summary, the upcoming release of The Monkey has generated significant excitement, with NEON expressing high confidence through various early screenings scheduled for the coming week prior to its nationwide premiere on Feb. 21. Boasting a 91% “fresh” rating from 23 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, The Monkey aims to captivate general audiences and achieve both critical acclaim and financial success. Even without prior knowledge of Schrader’s film Hardcore, the striking parody poster for The Monkey is intriguing enough to pique interest in the movie, owing to its minimalist design and humorous tagline displayed prominently at its center.

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2025-02-06 00:32