Overview
A small village hides dark secrets beneath its tranquil surface, where friendship and suspicion intertwine.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- melancholic
- foreboding
- intimate
- late night viewing
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an exceptionally elegant, sorrowful, and tightly controlled psychological thriller, led by Stéphane Audran and Jean Yanne.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Wedding celebrations, school routines, and village life acquire an unsettling charge as murders occur nearby.
Hélène's friendship with Popaul becomes emotionally complicated when evidence links him to the killings.
The investigation and Hélène's discoveries unfold through measured behavior, implication, and withheld certainty.
The small provincial French community brings Hélène and Popaul together while intensifying the visibility and loneliness surrounding the murders.
Films like The Butcher, and why
The Unfaithful Wife
Elegant psychological suspense, rural social observation, and morally ambiguous criminality
The Silence of the Lambs
Controlled serial-killer thriller shaped by bourgeois social environments and concealed desire
La cérémonie
French New Wave-adjacent crime drama combining romantic tension, psychological unease, and provincial settings
Spellbound
Sorrowful, restrained murder mystery with intimate character psychology and dark romantic undertones
Movie Details
- Director
- Claude Chabrol
- Release Date
- 1970-02-27
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (294)
Cast
- Stéphane Audran
- Jean Yanne
- Roger Rudel
- Antonio Passalia
- Mario Beccara
- William Guérault
- Pascal Ferone
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Butcher about?
- In a quiet French village, a schoolteacher’s friendship with a butcher becomes haunted by a trail of murders and an incriminating keepsake.
- What is The Butcher like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Butcher as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Butcher violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Butcher as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Butcher?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an exceptionally elegant, sorrowful, and tightly controlled psychological thriller, led by Stéphane Audran and Jean Yanne.
- Which films are like The Butcher?
- Films with a similar feel include The Unfaithful Wife, The Silence of the Lambs, La cérémonie, and Spellbound.
- How long is The Butcher?
- The Butcher runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Butcher?
- In United States, The Butcher is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video.
