Children of the Monkey (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Children of the Monkey follows Dario, a father whose troubled feelings toward his disabled child draw him into an increasingly intimate bond with his teenage nephew. As he assumes the role of the father he imagines he should have been, a dangerous illusion begins to threaten the entire family.

Children of the Monkey is an Italian drama directed by Tommaso Landucci and written by Landucci with Damiano Femfert. The film centers on Dario, a father whose relationship with his family becomes increasingly complicated through his bond with his teenage nephew.

Starring Riccardo Scamarcio alongside Fausto Russo Alesi, Lidia Liberman and others, the film explores a volatile family dynamic shaped by emotional displacement, parental expectations and a role that cannot safely be sustained.

Children of the Monkey movie details

Story without spoilers

Dario is the father of a disabled child, but his feelings about parenthood begin to shift when he receives attention from his brother’s teenage son. He becomes increasingly drawn to the boy and starts to see in him the son he would have wanted to have.

Their growing complicity allows Dario to imagine himself as a different kind of father. What begins as an emotionally charged connection develops into a dangerous role-playing game, placing the wider family at risk without revealing how the situation unfolds.

What to expect

The premise points to an intimate family drama with a serious psychological edge. Its central tension comes from Dario’s conflicted response to fatherhood and from the boundaries that begin to blur between uncle and nephew.

Rather than presenting a conventional family story, the film is built around emotional substitution, unresolved desire and the consequences of adopting an imagined parental identity. The setup suggests a progressively more unsettling conflict as Dario’s attachment affects those around him.

Cast and creative team

Riccardo Scamarcio leads the cast as Dario. The supporting cast includes Fausto Russo Alesi, Lidia Liberman, Cristina Odasso, Tancredi Naldini, Andrea Aggio and Luigi Diberti.

Tommaso Landucci directs Children of the Monkey and co-writes it with Damiano Femfert.

• Riccardo Scamarcio
• Fausto Russo Alesi
• Lidia Liberman
• Cristina Odasso
• Tancredi Naldini
• Andrea Aggio
• Luigi Diberti

Release and production context

Children of the Monkey is an Italian production spoken in Italian. It is associated with Lungta Film, Lebowski and Mosaicon Film. The supplied release information lists September 17, 2026, and identifies the film’s status as Released. No runtime is provided.

Production companies: Lungta Film, Lebowski, Mosaicon Film

Movies Dock view

Children of the Monkey is framed as a tense family drama about a father who attempts to replace an unwanted emotional reality with an imagined one. Its focus on Dario’s bond with his nephew gives the story an uneasy premise, while the family-wide consequences provide its central source of conflict.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb