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Film: The Soul Eater (Le mangeur d'âmes)
Year: 2024
Directors: Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury
Writers: Annelyse Batrel, Ludovic Lefebvre and Alexis Laipsker
Starring: Virginie Ledoyen, Paul Hamy and Sandrine Bonnaire
Review:
Now this was a film that I believe I originally heard about hitting other film festivals. From what I saw, this played at Fantasia Fest. I got the chance to see this at the Nightmares Film Festival for its Midwest premiere. This was the opening film and not to play my hand too much, but if this is the tone they’re setting, I’m here for it. Other than knowing the directors from their other works, I came into this one knowing just what I’ve shared here.
Synopsis: when violent and gruesome deaths plague a small mountain village, an old legend about a malevolent creature resurfaces.
We start this by seeing Franck de Rolan (Paul Hamy) running. Someone in a van pulls up and hands him a file. We just know that there’s another one who has gone missing. We then see Franck get off a bus near a remote mountain village. He tries to catch a ride with Elizabeth Guardiano (Virginie Ledoyen), but she doesn’t stop. She must soon after though. There is a logging truck that has blocked both lanes of the road. This allows Franck to catch up and we learn he’s an inspector. She then gives him a ride to the next village.
What is funny here is that she is also a police officer. Elizabeth oversees the crime scene that Franck was on his way to. We meet other officers here who are from the town, including Brigadier-Chef Marcelin (Francis Renaud) and Fabrice Gonnet (Malik Zidi). What we learn is that there was a married couple, the Vasseurs (Jérémy Margallé and Audrey Golay). They have a son, Evan (Cameron Bain), but he’s missing. Elizabeth looks around the house, finding the boy in the basement. Franck finds a van in the garage, which could match one seen at the scenes of other disappearances of children.
The death at this place was violent, but it seems that this couple did it to each other. It turns out that they both were aroused during it. This isn’t the last violent death that happens. Franck is there trying to solve the case of the missing children in the area. Elizabeth wants to figure out what is happening with these murders. There is a local legend about a creature called The Soul Eater, which could be a connection. We also continue to hear about an airplane that crashed. There are secrets here that everyone is keeping that need to come to light to explain what is happening.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is with something that was said before this started. A local podcast duo introduced this and they said that this makes you think one thing before showing the truth of what we’re getting. I agree there and I love how this manages your expectations with it. There are elements that made me think of different things to make this work. I wouldn’t say blatant rip-offs or anything like that. I can just see similar things there.
Now that I’ve set that up, let me start with what made this work for me. The first thing is the isolated location. We are in this small mountain village. Since it is difficult to get to quickly, there is that isolated feeling. Then to go along with that, everyone knows everyone and their business. It also creates divides where they are prejudiced against them due to what makes them different. An example here is the neighbor of the Vasseurs. She called them weird and that they kept to themselves. This woman also believed there was something wrong with Evan. Then something else to include here. We meet a doctor, Carole Marbas (Sandrine Bonnaire). She’s trying to help Evan, but we learn later that not only does she work at the hospital, but also as the school doctor. People in the community wear different hats.
Then with that set up, let me discuss our two leads. The biggest thing here is that we learn both are flawed and have secrets in their past. That goes for everyone. What it adds here is that there are things in their past that haunt them and push their decisions. I don’t want to spoil everything, but Elizabeth had a daughter. She killed herself due to bullying. This is revealed early on. We learn that because of it, she shouldn’t be working cases with minors. Franck also has something in his past that he is hiding. I thought that both Ledoyen and Hamy do a great job bringing their characters to life as well as making them feel real.
For the last part of the story, this makes you wonder if there is a supernatural entity called the Soul Eater. We see it, but when we do and how it is shown, we don’t know if this is in the imagination of Evan. That was a good touch there. Now the people in this village I believe are Catholic. Due to that isolation, there is this local legend of the monster. What I like is explaining why Evan and Jeanne Maublanc (Lya Oussadit-Lessert) believe in it. I’ll say there, it is heartbreaking. Since I’m not spoiling, I’ll say here that we might have a local cult, how the airplane factors in and the truth is terrifying as well as heartbreaking.
That should be enough for the story so over to the rest of the acting. Bonnaire is solid in her role. It isn’t large, but it is important. She does seem like someone who wants to help the children. How she factors in later was good. Renaud, Zidi and the other local police officers are solid. What I like there is that they come off as bumbling. They’re not used to dealing with what they are here so they’re in over their heads. There could be more to it as well. Bain and Oussadit-Lessert were good as the two children who were orphaned during the events. The rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
All that is left then is filmmaking. What I’ll say here is that the establishing shots of the terrain were good. That sets up this as an isolated village. From there, I thought that they did solid things with building the mystery through the cinematography and the framing. It also helps with suspense. There are dark places explored, literal and figurative, so that adds to this. The effects that we got were great. I’m not shocked there, knowing the directors did the original Inside. We don’t necessarily see them as they happen, but the aftereffects are brutal. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit what was needed.
In conclusion, I’m glad that I could take this off my list of films to check out. This has an interesting story and concept. It plays with their expectations which kept me guessing until the end. That is something that I appreciated. The acting was good to bring the characters to life. I also wanted to commend the depth of our characters, which adds an element for me. This is well made from the setting, effects, cinematography to the framing. This is one that I’d recommend checking out. It is one that I’m hoping I get the chance to revisit when making my end of year list.
My Rating: 8 out of 10