The Soul Eater

2024 1h 51m FR

😐

6.2

MID

🍅

80%

FRESH

⭐

5.8

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 234🍅80%Rotten Tomatoes★5.8IMDB · 3,367

CrimeHorrorMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When the disappearance of children and bloody murders multiply in a small mountain village, an old legend shrouded in sulphur reappears... Commander Guardiano and Captain of the Gendarmerie De Rolan are forced to join forces to uncover the truth.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Virginie Ledoyen
Élisabeth Guardiano
Paul Hamy
Franck De Rolan
Sandrine Bonnaire
Docteur Carole Marbas
Malik Zidi
Fabrice Gonnet
Emmanuel Lanzi
Le motard
Christophe Favre
Henri Maublanc
Jérémy Margallé
M. Vasseur
Francis Renaud
Brigadier-Chef Marcelin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alexandre Bustillo
Writers: Ludovic Lefebvre, Annelyse Batrel
Languages: French
Countries: Belgium, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alexandre Bustillo, shot by Simon Roca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Raphaël Gesqua. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Virginie Ledoyen and Paul Hamy and Sandrine Bonnaire carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt28821588 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alexandre Bustillo directs. Simon Roca behind the camera. Raphaël Gesqua scores. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Belgium, France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 2 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.
5Directed by Alexandre Bustillo, shot by Simon Roca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Raphaël Gesqua. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Virginie Ledoyen and Paul Hamy and Sandrine Bonnaire carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt28821588 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "based on novel or book", "child murder", "hitchhiker", "demon".

The technical file

Cinematography: Simon Roca
Original score: Raphaël Gesqua
Production design: Marc Thiébault
Costume design: Alice Eyssartier
Makeup / hair: David Scherer
Sound: Samuel Rouillard
Stunt coordinator: Jérémy Margallé
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,500,000
Box office: $864,825
Return: 25% of budget
Original language: FR
IMDB: The Soul Eater (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 5.8/10 · 3,367 votes

Also by

Alexandre Bustillo

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-09
★ 6/10
"Franck" (Paul Hamy) is hitching his way to a small French village when he is picked up by "Elisabeth" (Virginie Ledoyen). It turns out that she is a police officer send to lead an investigation of double murder and that he is a captain in the national gendarmerie on a continuing mission to track down missing children - a trail that led him to this ostensibly sleepy hamlet. Reminiscent a little of "Doctor Sleep" (2019), the place is overlooked by a sanatorium and quickly the two, initially suspicious of each other, start to realise that their mysterious cases might well be linked. What doesn't really help is a local folklore about the eponymous monster who feeds off the souls of the deceased townsfolk - and as the film gathers pace it seems to be heading for quite a brutal and bloody feast. There might be one really important clue. "Evan" (Cameron Bain) who is the survivor of the apparent self-killings of his parents. What did he see? What does he know? Anything? His psychiatrist "Marbas" (Sandrine Bonnaire) is determined that her charge be left to recuperate, but "Franck" knows he is the link... At times, this is a tensely directed murder mystery but as the plot develops it also rather thins out and neither of the lead characters really offer us much by way of chemistry as serendipity plays just a bit too much of an hand in a denouement that does have quite a fitting twist, but also has something too much of the "Scooby Do" about it. It does just about work in a cinema, the wooded landscapes and the eeriness help it out quite a lot, but on television it will be pretty ordinary.
MovieGuys2024-11-13
★ 6/10
The Soul Easter walks a, by now, well trodden crime drama path but does little to distinguish itself. Starting out well enough with an outlandishly gruesome and inexplicable series of crimes, in a sleepy French village, this story builds to a disturbingly predictable and somewhat contextually emaciated, conclusion. Perhaps "nothing" is all the key protagonist is left with but you really do feel a little more is needed, by way of resolution. Acting is above average but the rather truncated character development, with a pronounced and possibly intentional, remoteness between the main characters, doesn't lend itself to truly sterling performances. In summary, this is not a bad film. There's a lot to like, if that's the right word. That said, it fails to really bring the full emotional impact and comprehension of whats transpired, to the forefront, robbing it of an epiphany, of sorts, that would have rendered this film "special". As it stands, a reasonable, if unexceptional watch.