Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- sarcastic
- grotesque
- provocative
- late night horror marathon
- christmas horror night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an uneven but provocative fusion of dark comedy, slasher horror, and transgressive French extremity.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story unfolds on Christmas Eve, turning a holiday visit into a grotesque rural nightmare.
The protagonists’ sarcastic nightclub banter and reckless behavior are placed alongside Joseph’s frightening intentions and slasher elements.
The film is identified with new French extremism and combines sexual transgression, violence, and unsettling rural horror.
Joseph initially appears to be a shepherd and housekeeper but reveals hostile intentions during the Christmas-night gathering.
Films like Satan, and why
Calvaire
shares abrasive comedy horror, rural menace, sexual transgression, and grotesque tonal shifts
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
shares Christmas-set horror, black humor, demonic menace, and escalating group peril
Frontier(s)
shares French extreme horror, confrontational sexuality, visceral atmosphere, and transgressive subject matter
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
shares surreal rural horror, darkly comic provocation, and an isolated-household nightmare
Movie Details
- Director
- Kim Chapiron
- Release Date
- 2006-02-01
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (391)
Cast
- Vincent Cassel
- Olivier Barthélémy
- Roxane Mesquida
- Leïla Bekhti
- Julie-Marie Parmentier
- Ladj Ly
- Nico Le Phat Tan
- Gérald Thomassin
- Georgette Crochon
- François Levantal
Common questions
- What is Satan about?
- A reckless Christmas-night excursion from Paris becomes a grotesque collision of nightclub comedy, sexual menace, and rural devilry.
- What is Satan like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Satan as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Satan violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Satan as brutal.
- What did critics think of Satan?
- Critics broadly found the film an uneven but provocative fusion of dark comedy, slasher horror, and transgressive French extremity.
- Which films are like Satan?
- Films with a similar feel include Calvaire, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, Frontier(s), and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
- How long is Satan?
- Satan runs 94 minutes.
