The Fridae Movie Club wishes all its readers a happy Lunar New Year, especially to those from Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean communities.

In the midst of the festivities, our pick for the first half of your two-week holiday is The Monk. A French adaptation of an English Gothic novel set in mediaeval Spain, The Monk is a claustrophobic horror thriller that pays heed to the old school philosophy of "frighten but don't show". French leading man Vincent Cassel stars as a virtuous monk whose very soul it seems the devil himself has taken a personal interest in.

Till next week,

Vernon Chan