My Take on XYZ's New Film Vincent Must Die

    Have you ever imagined that everyone in the world was out to get you?  Well, a new movie created by XYZ films titled "Vincent Must Die," is directed by Stephan Castang and stars actors Karim Leklou, Vimala Pons, and Francois Chattot.  I decided to choose this movie because it introduces an interesting plot.  Imagining that everyone was out to kill you for no apparent reason is a scary thing to think about.  It's funny and pretty terrifying that almost everyone that sees Vincent automatically turns into a killing machine.  Even if it's a little kid, grown adult, or an elder, everyone is out for him.

    The movie was first premiered in 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival (held in France), but now there is a planned theatrical release on October 31st, 2025, in the United States.  The film follows a graphic designer named Vincent who finds that everyone has suddenly started to attack him with malicious intent.  He meets a waitress named Margaux who is the only one that doesn't seem to be affected by this and eventually finds out that a plague has been infecting people, leading to this killer behavior.  The film was rated 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, but on IMDb, it is rated a 6.4/10.  I noticed some reviews regarding the English dubbing of the film, and they state that the French film used AI to do this.  It's also mentioned that AI is used to mask the actors' lips moving to match the English audio. Since the film has been out since 2023, the total box office sales equate to $166,665 USD.  The reason why is that the film is a limited release and therefore, recent box office info hasn't been tracked.  The film was nominated once for both the Cesar Awards and the Louis Delluc Prize.  Won one Magritte Award for Best foreign film in coproduction.  Vincent Must Die (2023) - IMDb

    Director, actor, and writer Stephan Castang works consists of films Vincent Must Die (2023), Jeunesses francaises (2011) and Finale (2020).  An interesting fact about the director is that he is an author for a number of plays such as, Boule de gomme, Le Defile de Cesar, Une divine tragedie.  I personally don't know any of his works besides the one I'm covering, but it shows that Castang is multitalented creator.  

    Castang's films have some differences in terms of genre.  Compared to his film Finale (2020), this film focuses on a short story film approach, and the behaviors of elderly people in a retirement home.  The film is considered a drama/comedy, but Castang's most recent film Vincent Must Die (2023), is considered a satirical black comedy thriller.  His most reviewed film focuses on the psychology of human behavior and how society can bring people to their breaking point.  Finale seems to focus on a different side of Castang's work.  Finale (Short 2020) - IMDb

    My interpretation of the film is that it highlights many areas of film such as inspiration of George Romero's Shaun of the Dead.  Critics state that the film takes shades of zombie horror, dystopian sci-fi, and social breakdown satire.  The film also dives into societal exile as many people turn against Vincent for no reason, this can relate to current media as people who often use social media can find groups or large amounts of people siding against one single person for having a different opinion or for freely expressing themselves.  Another thing about this film is that Vincent's relationship with Margaux helps show issues in relationships during very extreme situations. 

    Since the film was initially released in France, the target audience seems to be those living in the country.  There were some countries that received this film such as Romania, Turkey, Hungary, Portugal, and Bulgaria Vincent Must Die - Box Office Mojo.  I don't think the film includes stereotypes during the film, but since the film takes place in the 90's, there could be some French stereotypes included from the past.  

    I think the concept of the film is good and seems appealing to my preferences in movies.  I liked films such as Shaun of the Dead and this film seems to take some inspiration from it.  Since I haven't watched the actual movie (due to it having limited releasing in the United States), in my opinion it would be something that I would look into. The movie is considered Castangs first featured film, and the most highly rated and seen.  I think this movie wouldn't be too memorable due to it being similar to many films released in the past, but it still seems like a great and interesting concept that many people couldn't picture in their heads.  

    Stephen Castang does have an Instagram account with about eighteen hundred followers and has been featured on French social media pages such as Unifrance on Facebook for "10 rising talents to watch." He highlights reasons why he chose to direct films, why he decided to make larger productions, and how the film Vincent Must Die was inspired.  Since he was featured on this Facebook account, it seems that he has been garnering attention from people in France.  I will think about reviewing more of his work to see anything new in the works or some news about him.  It seems the creator isn't too active on social media platforms, so I wasn't able to find websites or YouTube channels linked to him.  To be honest, no one that I know, knows about Mr. Castang, but I'll be willing to introduce them to his work. 

    To conclude this post, Vincent Must Die is a dramatic horror, that delves into the human mind and how societal issues can impact the way someone may feel in the social media world or in the world in general.  Stephen Castang does this by including certain inspirations from different films such as Shaun of the Dead and the pre- and post-apocalyptic chaos that ensues during the film. I learned more about how European films are emerging in the film industry and how these releases don't correspond with film in the United States, and how AI has been used to dub these international films.