The Monk
| release date (VOD, Digital, Theaters) | March 8 2013 |
| studio | ATO Pictures |
| director | Dominik Moll |
| writer | Dominik Moll, Matthew Lewis (novel) |
| starring | Vincent Cassel, Deborah Francois, Sergi Lopez, Geraldine Chaplin |
| site | elmonjelapelicula.es |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
| trailer 2 | Trailer #2 |
0 Comments
I watched the Trailer for this film some months ago and was intrigued, mainly because Vincent Cassel was the lead. The Monk (2011) is based on a controversial book published in 1796, written by Matthew Gregory Lewis. For the patient viewer this slow story will draw you back into a suppressive and superstitious time during the 17th Century. If you avoid reading the DVD back cover, you won’t have any idea how this visual spiral is going to roll.
Ignore the strapline on the front DVD cover comparing this film to The Woman in Black; there’s no comparison whatsoever. This is a creepy experience where you’ll lose yourself into the stories spiral and afterwards it’ll hang around your mind. There’s a characters mask which reminded me of those awesome masks from Stanley Kubrick’s final film Eyes Wide Shut (1999), very disturbing. I wouldn’t describe this work as a horror, it’s more of a gothic psychologically disturbing film, which is fine by me. If you want to watch something different, a slow paced film to watch in the dark, late at night, a chillingly atmospheric experience, then you’re in for a treat here. It’s the well scripted and well acted work on screen that’ll give you a quality dose of spookiness.
Vincent Cassel is one of my favorite actors, and he is incredible in this film, the opening scene in the confession box is a very sweet gear to get things started. There’s a feeling that your watching a really good Hammer Films production, which is a compliment. I thought about the brilliant The Pit and The Pendulum during the dungeon scene.
The Monk makes you think about how people lived hundreds of years ago, especially the severe punishment inflicted if your true feelings were disclosed within the world of isolated religion. Avoid this experience if you want to go horror hard, then again you’ll miss out on a class production that’s far removed from the usual conveyor belt filmed trash. I love researching and watching films of value that many people aren’t aware of and The Monk is a definite find. I hope you’ll enjoy its sense of foreboding as much as I did.
bleedingcritic
@bleedingfilms