The Soul Eater (2024) Review: Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s Latest Movie Combines a Decent Police Procedural and Folklore Horror
The last time I saw the works of Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury was the dismal Leatherface, easily one of the worst movies in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. They did go on to direct two movies post-Leatherface in Kandisha and The Deep House, both of which somehow went under my radar. Their latest movie The Soul Eater sees the directing duo combine police procedural, mystery thriller and folklore horror. The latter refers to the titular local legend manifested in the form of a tall, horned creature who lives in the forest capable of feeding the human soul if one sees it and turns the person into a demon.
The story follows a pair of high-ranking police officers including investigator Franck De Rolan (Paul Hamy) from National Gendarmerie and Commander Elisabeth Guardiano (Virginie Ledoyen), who arrive at the sleepy town of Roquenoir to investigate the gruesome death of the Vasseurs. When they first meet, the two don’t get along well as Franck is more concerned about finding out the missing children which leads him to the said town while Elisabeth’s investigation leans more toward the murders. Upon investigating the Vasseurs’ home to look for potential clues and evidence, Elisabeth finds Evan (Cameron Bain), the young son of the murdered parents hiding somewhere in the cellar.
According to the local police, the Vasseurs’ deaths resulted from brutally killing each other and since this is coming from the directing duo who shocked the world with their uncompromising debut Inside seventeen years ago, they certainly do not skimp on the violence. The aftermath of the Vasseurs’ demise is as graphic as it gets from their grisly flesh wounds to the blood smeared all over the murder scene.
As Franck and Elisabeth continue their investigations, more murders take place in a similar macabre fashion. Are the murders actually caused by the local legend “The Soul Eater” like the police claim to be? Or is it just an elaborate human-made ploy meant to confuse law enforcement, particularly with the arrival of Franck and Elisabeth leading the investigation to cover up the murders?
Working from Annelyse Batrel and Ludovic Lefebvre’s adapted screenplay (it was based on Alexis Laipsker’s 2021 novel Le Mangeur d’âmes), Bustillo and Maury favour a slow-burn approach in telling their story as the duo emphasises heavily on Franck and Elisabeth’s procedural works. There are a few scenes of uncomfortable violence but most of them are depicted in the aftermath of each victim’s death, even though the duo still deserved praise for utilising the practical effects.
I have to admit the movie suffers from a sluggish midsection and there’s a nagging feeling about the way Paul Hamy’s Franck and Virginie Ledoyen’s Elisabeth are portrayed as equally solemn protagonists to the point they suck the life out of their respective roles. Coupled with the dour atmosphere that tends to lay overly thick for its own good, there are times The Soul Eater significantly lags in its pacing.
Yes, I get that the movie is a slow-burn but there’s a difference between the one that slowly but steadily raises the stakes while maintaining the viewer’s interest and the one that stalls its momentum every now and then. The Soul Eater falls for the latter and just as I figure Bustillo and Maury hit a snag with another misfire, I’m glad the story manages to turn things around and even pick up the pace during the third act. The subsequent reveal surrounding the truth about the local legend and the mysterious murders which occurred in Roquenoir may divide the viewers. But personally, I do appreciate the twist-filled third act culminating in a pessimistic finale.
