With its North American premiere occurring at FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST 2024, The Soul Eater, directed by renowned filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside, Livid, Leatherface), is a deeply distressing look at the secrets a small town can keep and the lives it destroys.
After picking up Captain Franck De Rolan (Paul Hamy) from the side of the road, Commander Elizabeth Guardiano (Virginie Ledoyen) learns that her case on violent deaths in the small mountain town community where she has been assigned, and Franck’s investigation into the disappearance of children along the same connecting road, may be related. Not only do the two investigators have to come up against the resistance of a small town mentality, wary of outsiders, but they must also contend with the local folk legend of the Soul Eater, a horned monster who punishes anyone who dares venture into the mountains. As the pair climb ever deeper into the mystery that surrounds the locality, they must fit the pieces of the puzzle together before any more children succumb to the fate of the Soul Eater.
Known for their viscerally violent films, particularly Inside (2007), which remains a firm French Extremity favourite, The Soul Eater takes a more subtle route along the disturbing highway of genre film. Taking on more of an investigative police procedural tone, the film nestles itself within the desaturated world of two highly haunted detectives, desperate to unravel the mystery that has been woven so tightly in a town and environment that seems intent on pushing them out. The chemistry between Hamy and Ledoyen is a quiet spark, each playing their character with a silent but strong understanding of each other's motives.
Interwoven between the strands of investigative red string is the folk lore element of the film. Despite being based on the folkloric figure of a soul eater, (an entity that can devour the spirit of others, a trait which is sometimes passed on from parents), at times this idea feels very pushed to the side, particularly in the middle third, where attention is placed firmly on the character development of the two detectives. And whilst this second act does trudge along, focusing on the hardened stares of the characters a little too much, once the third act kicks into gear, this is when the strengths of Maury and Bustillo come to the foreground.
Cut with an overly brutal exposition scene, which is enough to delight any French Extremity fans, the story itself descends into a horrifying darkness that will surely cause knots in the pit of any viewer’s stomach, as the final piece of the puzzle comes into full realisation.
Despite the lagging middle, The Soul Eater’s incredibly upsetting third act is enough to save it from becoming another tropey procedural drama, exploring genuinely distressing themes, and with images within the last sequence that will burn itself into audiences’ brains, Bustillo and Maury have once again retained the power to ruin people’s days.
3.5 Screams out of 5
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