Our coverage of the 2024 Fantasia Film Festival keeps on rolling, rain or shine! Not even an extreme weather warning could keep me and my fellow movie lovers from seeing the French film Mangeur d’Âmes (The Soul Eater)! Also, make sure you’re following us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to keep up with our coverage of the Fantasia Film Festival!

When Adriana and I were sorting through the Fantasia program to select movies we wanted to review, I was immediately drawn to Mangeur d’Âmes. Not only did the promotional still (shown at the top of this review) have such a creepy vibe, I was drawn in by the synopsis. 

“When violent and gruesome deaths start plaguing a small mountain village, an old legend about a malevolent creature resurfaces.”

Say no more, I’m in! The movie was also screened with the short film Reel which I will review as part of a roundup of all the shorts I see during Fantasia, so stay tuned for that article coming soon!

Anyway, if you’re not as easily convinced as I am, I will go beyond the synopsis a bit to paint a clearer (but still spoiler-free) picture. This is very much along the lines of a police procedural but with some pretty graphic violence and scenes of gore. This also is a bit heavier and darker narratively than I was really expecting so if you’re sensitive to very real and uncomfortable crimes, this might not be an easy watch for you. With that said, these crimes in particular aren’t shown, just mentioned, if that makes it a bit easier for you.  

So with some of the details out of the way, was The Soul Eater a feast of a movie or did it leave me hungry for more?

My Thoughts

This movie really surprised me! It was definitely a bit of an unknown for me as I wasn’t familiar with either of the directors (Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo) or their previous works. This was the movies’ North American premiere, so it had some buzz already coming out of earlier screenings so I figured I would give it a try. After digesting the movie a bit more, there was a lot that I liked a lot about it, and a few things that didn’t quite work for me.

The movie pairs us up almost instantly with our two main leads, Elisabeth Guardiano played by Virginie Ledoyen, and Captain of the Gendarmerie (a branch of the French military that has law enforcement duties within France) Franck De Rolan played by Paul Hamy. While they fit some cliches from other police procedurals, I found both of the leads to be incredibly strong here. Both have more to them that you learn as the film progresses, but each actor portrays their characters so well, particularly Paul Hamy. This unorthodox pairing is only enhanced by the chemistry between the two actors as they settle into the investigation together. The supporting cast are all very serviceable, but none really stuck out to me except for some of the child performances which were very solid!

I also really enjoyed some of the more technical aspects of this movie as well. There were some beautiful shots, especially of the mountainside and of the community where the movie takes place. Apparently the directing pair of Maury and Bustillo have worked mostly in horror and that definitely shows when it came to the gore effects and some more suspenseful scenes in the movie. The gore ranged from comical to downright wince-worthy but in every case the effects were done incredibly well and almost entirely practical which brings things to the next level and helped make the movie feel more grounded. 

Sticking with the gore for a moment, there was a scene that stood out in particular to me that was shown later in the movie that was downright unsettling to watch. I can’t elaborate too much without risking spoilers, but it was one of the most unique killing scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie. As someone that watches a ton of movies, I get very excited when I get to see something new and different, and that was definitely the case here. It even had me wincing and that doesn’t happen often to me in movies anymore! 

Also, if you’ve ever watched a police procedural before, there’s always at least one scene where our leads head to a bar somewhere and throw back some whiskey and beers after a particularly hard time. We get the same thing in this movie a couple of times, but what stood out to me was that these cops are wine drinkers! Now, this had absolutely no bearing on my impression of the movie, but I did laugh when I realized this after the second such scene where our cops are drinking together. I guess French cops, no matter how traumatized by work, still have a bit of class when it comes to their drinking habits. 

Unfortunately, I had a few minor gripes with the narrative, but it was nothing that derailed the movie for me. The movie plays with the local horror story aspect well and doesn’t abuse it as a way to misdirect the audience. Also, as the mystery unfolds and becomes more clear, I feel a little bit unsatisfied with some of the answers it gives. There’s one particular mystery character that we only see glimpses of until they are eventually revealed to be little more than a clumsy way to add a piece to the mystery, and an unsatisfying one at that. 

The movie also doesn’t do much new in terms of the structure of the police procedural, but there are some reveals that I really enjoyed. The movie also has a few moments where there are things you see or hear that you know mean something, even if you’re not sure what they mean at the time. However, even if I found some twists and reveals to be really telegraphed, the movie doesn’t need them to be a surprise for it to still work and be an enjoyable watch. Though I felt the movie stumbled a bit as it approached the finish line, I really liked how this one wraps up, and the final shot in particular was stupendous and will stick in my brain for a while. 

Oh, and one last note, but there were a few minor issues with the subtitles in the version of the movie screened at Fantasia. They weren’t significant and there were only a handful of moments when I paused because I was slightly confused by the words they used. I think it was most noticeable during the parts where you can hear the news over the radio, but again this was simply a minor observation I had. 

Verdict

I liked this movie! While the narrative didn’t do a ton new, a talented leading cast and an intriguing mystery kept me firmly engaged throughout the nearly two hour runtime. The gore effects, some incredibly beautiful shots, and a very satisfying ending were also enough to overcome the odd narrative cliche or less than thrilling reveal.  

It’s unclear to me right now where you’ll be able to eventually watch this movie, but it definitely is good enough to get a recommendation from me. I think you will especially enjoy this one if you like investigative police procedurals or indulge in the occasional true crime documentary!