Skip to main content
Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Horror Movies 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
Michael Johnston as Bear in Obsession
Horror Movies The boy done bad in new teaser for bloodsoaked, buzzy horror Obsession
Georgina Campbell as Jane in Psycho Killer
Horror Movies Barbarian star's new slasher horror called "abysmally dull" and "a nothing burger of a movie" in scathing first reviews
Michael B. Jordan as 'Smoke' and 'Stack' in Ryan Coogler's new vampire horror Sinners
Amazon Prime Video From Sinners to The Wailing, get scared with our guide to the best Prime Video horror movies
Michael Johnston as Bear and Inde Navarrette as Nikki in Obsession
Horror Movies You'll wish you'd been ghosted after watching the new trailer for upcoming horror movie Obsession
Return to Silent Hill protagonist James Sunderland
Horror Movies Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
Horror Movies The Bride earns mixed first reviews, as critics call it everything from "a modern classic" to "unholy mess"
No Time To Die
Horror Movies Dune star Léa Seydoux joins the cast of new A24 horror movie that's adapting one of Edgar Allan Poe's creepiest stories
Christian Bale as Frank in The Bride
Horror Movies The Bride star "cherry-picked" his Frankenstein's monster from the bits Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff "got right"
An apparently dead person wearing a matted fur bunny suit
Horror Movies Severance star Adam Scott's new horror movie Hokum just got an intensely creepy first trailer
A young girl swaddled in rags awakening from death
Horror Movies New clip from Evil Dead Rise director's The Mummy movie quite literally unpacks the Universal monster
Jack O'Connell and the Jimmies in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Horror Movies 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple director teases the sequel's most "horrifying" scene involving Jack O'Connell's villain
Bruno Núñez Arjona and Sergi López as Esteban and Luis in Sirat
Drama Movies An unlikely Oscars 2026 nominee is a tense, gut-wrenching odyssey through the desert
Christian Bale as Frank in The Bride
Horror Movies Christian Bale on exploring the more "comedic" sides of Frankenstein's monster in new sci-fi horror The Bride
Dafne Keen as Chrys in Whistle
Horror Movies The Nun's Corin Hardy reveals the "three things" that drew him back to original horror with new scary flick Whistle
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Biography Movies

The Monk review

Not to be confused with the US detective comedy drama.

Reviews
By Matt Glasby published 18 April 2012

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

This French cautionary tale is based on a 1796 gothic novel about devout Capucin Ambrosio’s (Vincent Cassel)’s fall from grace.

After offering succour to a strange, masked pilgrim, Ambrosio gets bitten by an insect in his rose garden – you can probably sense a metaphor brewing here – and the succour’s soon feverishly returned.

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.

You may like
  • Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
  • Michael Johnston as Bear in Obsession The boy done bad in new teaser for bloodsoaked, buzzy horror Obsession
  • Georgina Campbell as Jane in Psycho Killer Barbarian star's new slasher horror called "abysmally dull" and "a nothing burger of a movie" in scathing first reviews
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Matt Glasby
Social Links Navigation
Freelance Writer

Matt Glasby is a freelance film and TV journalist. You can find his work on Total Film - in print and online - as well as at publications like the Radio Times, Channel 4, DVD REview, Flicks, GQ, Hotdog, Little White Lies, and SFX, among others. He is also the author of several novels, including The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film and Britpop Cinema: From Trainspotting To This Is England.

Read more
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Horror Movies 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
 
 
Michael Johnston as Bear in Obsession
Horror Movies The boy done bad in new teaser for bloodsoaked, buzzy horror Obsession
 
 
Georgina Campbell as Jane in Psycho Killer
Horror Movies Barbarian star's new slasher horror called "abysmally dull" and "a nothing burger of a movie" in scathing first reviews
 
 
Michael B. Jordan as 'Smoke' and 'Stack' in Ryan Coogler's new vampire horror Sinners
Amazon Prime Video From Sinners to The Wailing, get scared with our guide to the best Prime Video horror movies
 
 
Michael Johnston as Bear and Inde Navarrette as Nikki in Obsession
Horror Movies You'll wish you'd been ghosted after watching the new trailer for upcoming horror movie Obsession
 
 
Return to Silent Hill protagonist James Sunderland
Horror Movies Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"
 
 
Latest in Biography Movies
Dracula
Biographical Movies Leonardo DiCaprio is making an Ed Wood-style biopic about the man who played Dracula
 
 
Pixar's Ratatouille
Movies The 32 greatest movies about food that will make you hungry
 
 
Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer
Movies The 32 greatest biopics of all time
 
 
The Trinity Test in Oppenheimer
Movies The 32 greatest movies based on historical events
 
 
Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain
Movies The 33 greatest movies about showbiz
 
 
The Wolf of Wall Street
Movies The 32 greatest Leonardo DiCaprio movies
 
 
Latest in Reviews
The design of the YoloLiv YoloCam S3
Peripherals This webcam promises DSLR image quality, and it isn't too far off
 
 
Crimson Desert
RPGs Crimson Desert review: "A game that's far better as a sandbox than as a story"
 
 
Alien RPG Evolved Edition Core Rules on a wooden surface
Tabletop Gaming Alien: The Roleplaying Game Evolved Edition review
 
 
The reviewer holding the CRKD Gibson Les Paul Pro Edition Guitar
Gaming Controllers The CRKD Pro Edition Guitar controller is almost perfect, and lets you rock out to all of the classics along with the most recent hits
 
 
A Nyxi Flexi on a desk with pink lighting turned on
Gaming Controllers This controller lets you swap between Xbox and PlayStation thumbstick layouts
 
 
Photo of the Belkin Carrying Case sitting on top of the Belkin Charging Case Pro.
Accessories Belkin has done the unimaginable and made my favorite Switch 2 case even better
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. A close-up of Mako Daito during the trailer for Stranger Than Heaven.
    1
    Xbox Partner Preview showcase coming Thursday with "updates from" Mass Effect-like RPG The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, Stalker 2, and Yakuza dev's Stranger Than Heaven
  2. 2
    After closing the Crucial brand, Micron's revenues are soaring in the RAMpocalypse: "In the AI era, memory has become a strategic asset for our customers"
  3. 3
    It's a great time to grab these Switch game deals now that the Switch 2 handheld mode boost is here
  4. 4
    Dragon's Dogma 2 expansion hopes have arisen once more as fans think Capcom is teasing DLC in the RPG's anniversary artwork
  5. 5
    The Steam Machine is capped at 60Hz in 4K, but these are the TVs I'd actually pair with the new PC

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...