The Monk
The Monk Image
Metascore
56 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critics What's this?

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  • Summary: Adapted from the gothic novel by Matthew G. Lewis, The Monk tells the tragic story of Brother Ambrosio in Catholic Spain during the 17th century. Abandoned at birth and left at the doors of the Capucins convent, Ambrosio becomes a devout monk admired for his faith and purity, but the arrival of a mysterious new pupil will shake his convictions and lead his down a path of sin. [Diaphana Films]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    Mar 7, 2013
    75
    Not to be mistaken for a serious treatment of religious fervor or clerical corruption, The Monk is instead a knowingly over-the-top bit of gothic nuttiness.
  2. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    Mar 5, 2013
    60
    The sense of old-school piety as lust under inhuman pressure is juicy and polished, if a little earnest about spiritual conflict and too entranced with its LOTR-ish medieval trappings. In fact, as monksploitation goes, Dominik Moll’s film is sober and straight when it should be crazy and hot-blooded.
  3. Empire
    Reviewed by: Kim Newman
    Mar 5, 2013
    60
    An austere, cerebral reading of a book which is unfettered, blood-bolstered and wildly sensationalist — Lewis is the father of torture porn, not a master of subtle chills. It’s interesting and unsettling, with a charismatic lead performance, but nowhere near as shocking as it should be.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Tina Hassannia
    Mar 8, 2013
    38
    Dominik Moll never addresses Matthew Gregory Lewis's original groundbreaking ideas in the film, nor does he rework the material for a contemporary audience.

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. TVJerry
    6
    In the 17th century Spain, a baby is abandoned on the steps of a monastery and grows up a devoted priest and inspirational speaker (!)…until a a mysterious visitor changes everything. With menacing music, portentous direction and slow pacing, this dark French tale (yes, subtitles) ominously promises dread and shock. Promises. Promises. While we kept getting led on, expecting the worst, the path is bewildering and dumbly dense. A threatening promise with a disappointing payoff.… Expand

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