If you haven't come across it, The Monk is a tale of a clergyman going slowly bonkers in the belfry, written by Matthew Lewis. And, no, not the one from Harry Potter, but the18th century English novelist whose fracturing man-of-God is played by Vincent Cassel in Dominik Moll's new film version of the story. Feast your eyes on the trailer below, then pray for absolution. Dominus!

 
The Monk in question, Ambrosio (Cassel), is the brooding heart of this Gothic potboiler. The trailer hints at a holy man beset by temptations of every stripe. Like The Name Of The Rose meets Lolita, there's a young girl who catches Ambrosio's eye in his Spanish monastery, plus as much sorcery, murder and incest as you can squeeze into a medieval chancel. There will also be many opportunities for Cassel to take his shirt off, which is good news for anyone who's into that kind of thing.

Cassel is in a rich vein, matching the likes of Michael 'sexy crisis' Fassbender for tormented, sexually-charged characters in a run of films that includes Mesrine, Black Swan and A Dangerous Method. Will The Monk take him even further out into the dark waters? Find out when it's released on April 27.