Stephen King horror film trailer is so shocking it was denied permission to be aired on TV

A Stephen King horror film has a trailer so gruesome it was denied permission to be aired on TV.

A Stephen King adaptation with shocking content is nothing new, if anything it is typical of the author.

Whether it be the child murder of IT, the scenes so intense in Gerald’s Game viewers passed out, or everything in Pet Sematary, Stephen King adaptations are almost always gruesome and controversial.

Film versions of his work have hit a new uniquely bizarre high as a trailer has been denied permission to be aired on TV.

This was released by distributor NEON who posted redacted responses via email from network executives they claim refused to play the trailer.

The film in question is The Monkey, the latest adaptation of King’s work which is directed by Longlegs' Osgood Perkins.

Trailers already released have been shocking, with gore, violence, and scares aplenty, but the newest TV spot clearly takes the cake.

NEON posted the emails to Twitter with the caption: “We submitted a TV spot for THE MONKEY to the four major TV networks. It did not go well.”

Amongst the replies, one response partially read: “The spot below would not be permitted in any programming,” finally referring to the ‘excessive violence’ after a heavily redacted section.

We submitted a TV spot for THE MONKEY to the four major TV networks. It did not go well. pic.twitter.com/zN3EWLp34k

— NEON (@neonrated) January 29, 2025

After asking for feedback the network reportedly responded saying that there were issues with ‘every scene in the spot’.

Another said that the new trailer was ‘not suitable for [their] audiences, even with restrictions’, whilst a third studio reportedly called the trailer ‘too violent to air’.

Unsurprisingly, this led fans to only want to see the movie more.

One replied saying: “This is the best marketing you could ask for for the film.”

Another said: “Neon really the best in the game at film marketing.”

A third added: “Love this type of marketing! They knocked it out of the park with Longlegs; and now it’s the same director & studios.”

The film is an adaptation of a 1980 Stephen King short story from the book Skeleton Crew and follows twin brothers who come across an old monkey toy in their attic.

After discovering it a series of gruesome deaths start happening and violence, gore, and seemingly from one trailer a flaming baby, ensue.

The cast is stacked, including Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Sarah Levy, and Osgood Perkins (who is appearing in the film in an actor as well as directing).