The Soul Eater (French: Le mangeur d'âmes) is a 2024 French crime thriller horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, based on the novel of the same name by Alexis Laipsker. It stars Virginie Ledoyen, Paul Hamy, and Sandrine Bonnaire.
Contents
Premise
A man named Franck investigates a series of child disappearances and crosses paths with a woman, Elizabeth, investigating murders in the same village. These intertwined cases turn up references to a local bogeyman legend called "the soul eater".
Cast
Virginie Ledoyen as Elizabeth Guardiano
Paul Hamy as Franck de Rolan
Sandrine Bonnaire as Docteur Carole Marbas
Francis Renaud as Brigadier-Chef Marcelin
Malik Zidi as Fabrice Gonnet
Cameron Bain as Evan Vasseur
Release
The Soul Eater premiered at the 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam. It had its North American premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 20 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "An elegantly crafted horror procedural tinged with fairy tale elements, The Soul Eater uses subtle performances and lingering dread to deliver an unflinching, haunting portrait of hidden evil."
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting gave the film a mostly positive review, commenting that it "plunge[s] into dark subject matter with aplomb" and that it "comes alive and shows its distinct personality in the back half." Matthew Donato of Collider wrote that the film "blends unsettling folkloric imagery into a procedural thriller that’s not quite Longlegs or Megalomaniac, but will still leave your soul wounded and rotten by the time the credits roll." Jennie Kermode of Eye For Film gave it a highly positive review, calling it the directors' "most accomplished" film to date.