The Monk
ATO Pictures | Release Date: March 8, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMar 7, 2013
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. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesIgnatiy Vishnevetsky Mar 6, 2013
An eccentric period melodrama with horror-flick overtones. Occasionally incoherent but never dull, the movie brims with weird imagery. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 7, 2013
Dominik Moll downplays the overtly scandalous nature of the story, at least for a while, with a leisurely pace heavy on imagery. He’s made a beautiful-looking film that portends disaster. And disaster arrives, eventually. It just takes its time getting there. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMar 5, 2013
The finale, in which godly rites are juxtaposed against the vilest of sins, builds to an unholy power. Read full review
60
EmpireKim NewmanMar 5, 2013
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. Read full review
60
Time OutMichael AtkinsonMar 5, 2013
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. Read full review
60
Total FilmMatt GlasbyMar 5, 2013
Director Dominik Moll makes some odd style choices – like Looney Tunes-style ‘iris wipes’ – and it’s a while before Cassel fully embraces his dark side, yet his customary charisma is what seals The Monk’s redemption. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 5, 2013
It is not a story of great depth or passion, but there are intriguing and unsettling moments on its well-crafted surface. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenMar 7, 2013
Moll's restraint gives way to a tastefully overwrought checklist of Gothic imagery. In the cloistered shadows and the harsh Castilian sun, the visuals are handsome, even as the movie threatens to tip into parody. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 7, 2013
Mr. Moll, whose films include “With a Friend Like Harry...,” somewhat heroically manages to keep the story’s manifold twists from becoming knotted, but he’s less adept at setting up the characters and their relationships and especially the depth and significance of their faith. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterBernard BesserglikMar 5, 2013
Ultimately the movie disappoints, falling between two stools and failing to convince either as spectacle or as a fable about religious obsession. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineTina HassanniaMar 8, 2013
Dominik Moll never addresses Matthew Gregory Lewis's original groundbreaking ideas in the film, nor does he rework the material for a contemporary audience. Read full review
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