Critic Reviews
-
Nigel Floyd, Time Out
t's pronounced 'Shite-an', as in 'Shite an' then some'.
-
Jason Gorber, Film Scouts
Kids-in-the-country vibe mixes teen horror with Deliverance
-
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Manages a playful sensibility, reveling in its repugnance and enjoying the heck out of its twisted ending.
-
Philip French, Observer [UK]
At the end, you feel they should have thrown out Rosemary's baby with the bath water.
-
Nicholas Barber, Independent on Sunday
An eyecatching calling card for its first-time director.
-
Edward Porter, Sunday Times (UK)
If only Cassel had saved his performance for a collaboration with the League of Gentlemen.
-
Nick Curtis, This is London
Despite the air of brutish aggression and sexual predatoriness, little happens until gory retribution finally rears its head.
-
Stuart McGurk, thelondonpaper
Totally bonkers - but all the more gripping for it.
-
Anthony Quinn, Independent
The film, shot in a demented, headlong style, seems to have no idea of its direction other than the shelf marked "cult".
-
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
As a grotesque parody of the hillbilly-terror genre, it has a real wit and energy.
-
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
A contrived and very self-conscious genre piece of hardcore black-comedy horror in a 1970s vein.
-
Saxon Bullock, Film4
Has plenty of atmosphere but can't make up for unpleasant characters and a meandering story.
-
David Mattin, BBC
Vincent Cassel is the overpowering presence here; his perma-grinning, unkempt Joseph is brilliantly unsettling.
-
Tom Dawson, Total Film
Despite some pretentious touches - a night-spot named Club Styxx, a guard dog called Cerberus - Satan doesn't take itself too seriously.
-
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Entertaining and genuinely creepy at times this boasts strong performances from its French cast.
-
Joel Meares, Filmcritic.com
wrong on so many levels that the mind boggles
-
Johnny Butane, Dread Central
...too often these days films are made with such a sickening lack of imagination and balls that one begins to wonder what the point of it all is; then something like Sheitan comes along and you see that there are still some filmmakers our there with new a
-
Aaron Hillis, Premiere Magazine
Without being overtly graphic, this audaciously boorish and naughty film delivers the familial conspiracy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with unnerving Deliverance-like hicks as slapstick riffs...
Read all 18 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
-
Obnoxious amoral twentysomethings party at a creepy French provincial estate where the caretaker has a permanent unsettling grin, and nothing is as it seems. Ambitious attempt at a ROSEMARY'S BABY type atmosphere, but the young protagonists are intolerable and live to annoy the… More
Obnoxious amoral twentysomethings party at a creepy French provincial estate where the caretaker has a permanent unsettling grin, and nothing is as it seems. Ambitious attempt at a ROSEMARY'S BABY type atmosphere, but the young protagonists are intolerable and live to annoy the audience for far too long, and the multiple false endings were a bad idea. Gets worse on a second viewing. This movie really hates young people, which is cool and all, but it's a bit over the top.
-
Poor, saved only by Cassel's general brilliance. The plot was unmoving, the quality was generally low.
-
A better type of teen horror, but for me failed toward the end. It was very predictable, but the progression of the story was enjoyable.
Vincent Cassel plays a character quite unlike any you've seen him play before, he plays it well, but isn't really a film that is up to… More
A better type of teen horror, but for me failed toward the end. It was very predictable, but the progression of the story was enjoyable.
Vincent Cassel plays a character quite unlike any you've seen him play before, he plays it well, but isn't really a film that is up to his level of acting.
-
It's a shame a well played character by Vincent Cassel wasn't enough to save this tripe
-
I don't even know what to say. This is not so much a movie as it is Insanity: Caught On Film. To this day I still have no bloody idea what it was about. Apart from wacky, incestuous French satanists and a few kids caught in thier midst. Chapiron has mentioned that this film was… More
I don't even know what to say. This is not so much a movie as it is Insanity: Caught On Film. To this day I still have no bloody idea what it was about. Apart from wacky, incestuous French satanists and a few kids caught in thier midst. Chapiron has mentioned that this film was inspired by acid and you know what? It really shows.
-
Trashy and blatant french horror film. Vincent Cassel's role as the ugly caretaker is the only good thing about this erratic and predictable freak show.
-
Horror COMEDY? I certainly wasn't amused. No, rather utterly disturbed and disgusted. Not only by Joseph and his gang, but by the three moronic guys (esp. Bart) as well.
I don't know how I should grade this film. On one hand, it did exactly what it was meant to do -… More
Horror COMEDY? I certainly wasn't amused. No, rather utterly disturbed and disgusted. Not only by Joseph and his gang, but by the three moronic guys (esp. Bart) as well.
I don't know how I should grade this film. On one hand, it did exactly what it was meant to do - creeped the hell out of me - but on the other, I cannot say I exactly enjoyed watching it (nor do I ever want to see it again). In a sense this film is kind of like a horrible car crash. You're obviously bothered by what you see, yet you can't seem to look away.
-
Now, this is off-kilter. Satan is a pseudo-horror flick about a group of teens/twenty-somethings who decide upon a trip to the French countryside following a bar brawl. Why this is, is largely unexplained.
In amongst the attempts to get laid, the find themselves harried by a crazed… More
Now, this is off-kilter. Satan is a pseudo-horror flick about a group of teens/twenty-somethings who decide upon a trip to the French countryside following a bar brawl. Why this is, is largely unexplained.
In amongst the attempts to get laid, the find themselves harried by a crazed farmer. Enter Vincent Cassel, whose off-the-leash performance fuels most of the film'[s comedy, sporting wellies, bushy facial hair and a ridiculously insane shit-eating grin. Oh, and some classic casual racism.
Though on the surface the picture does seem to bear a lot of resemblances to typical Yank backwoods horrors, it does benefit from a mixture of restraint from gore (nearly all of 'the horror' is actually circumstancial countryside misgivings, such as a bed full of locusts), and bad taste (dog wanking, graphic water breaking).
Essentially the picture does not hold up to scrutiny, it's rather a nutso horror piece to enjoy with mates, hence the fairly random Jacob's Ladder-style ending. Kudos to Olivier Bartélémy as a stupid, horny chav feeling like a third (or fifth) wheel for most of the picture, and to Roxane Mesquida (A Ma Souer!) and Leïla Bekhti for generally being gorgeous. On the topic, look out for a small role from Monica Bellucci, 'star' of a kinky gothic horror playing on a service station's TV.
-
Very freak, silly horror and weird French movie.
-
Insane french film about about a group of friends whose night turns to shit when a beautiful young woman invites them to her family home for Christmas. The blokes think they're going to have a "good time" with the girls and all will be fun. But when grinning caretaker… More
Insane french film about about a group of friends whose night turns to shit when a beautiful young woman invites them to her family home for Christmas. The blokes think they're going to have a "good time" with the girls and all will be fun. But when grinning caretaker Joseph turns up thing get unpredictable and a bit mental. This crazy but compelling combination of drama/thriller, black comedy and horror should be seen to be believed. Even just for Vincent Cassell's unhinged but brilliant performance!
-
As I've heard, Cassel is excellent, both funny and creepy in his demented role. I was a little confused by the ending and somewhat put off by all the unlikable characters, but all and all it's a good film.
Read all 11 featured audience ratings
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Subscription Services