Horror movie marketing ups its game once again, as the team behind The Monkey sends a gross-out bus to drive around Hollywood

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"This is savage as f***. I love it"

The Monkey
(Image credit: Black Bear)

Who's to say there's only one way to market a horror movie? In this era of Twitter and TikTok, trailers and posters just aren't cutting it anymore and studios are being forced to get creative to hype up certain releases – and, well, it looks like the team behind The Monkey got the memo.

To celebrate Longlegs director Osgood Perkins' latest feature hitting the big screen, Neon had someone dress up like the titular toy and drive a school bus full of decapitated cheerleaders around Hollywood. The PR stunt is a direct reference to one of the film's most shocking moments, but we won't spoil the context here in case you're reading this having not seen it yet...

"Absolutely insane to have this as part of your marketing," one follower replied, as another wrote: "This is savage as f***. I love it."

"Outstanding," tweeted a third, alongside a bunch of clapping emojis.

Based on Stephen King's short story of the same name, The Monkey follows Hal and Bill Shelburn, twin brothers with two entirely different personalities, as they're stalked by a wind-up, drum-banging simian that seems to be violently offing people in their proximity. Christian Convery, Tatiana Maslany, and Theo James star.

This isn't the first time a Neon title has rolled out mighty meta advertising. Ahead of the release of Perkins' Longlegs, the studio launched a website that delved into the murder-filled case files of the eponymous serial killer, complete with chilling crime scene photos.

Back in early October, Heretic's marketing team over at A24 put up digital posters in Salt Lake City Airport that, on a quick glance, looked like real missing person ads. "What happened to Paxton and Barnes?" they read, alongside photos of Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East's fictional missionaries. As Film Updates pointed out at the time, the LDS General Conference, an annual Mormon event, was taking place in town that weekend.

The Monkey is in cinemas now. For more, check out our picks of the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.

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Amy West
Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

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