The Diabolical (2015)

Directed by: Alistair Legrand | 86 minutes | horror, science fiction | Actors: Ali Larter, Arjun Gupta, Max Rose, Chloe Perrin, Merrin Dungey, Patrick Fischler, Kurt Carley, Wilmer Calderon, Laura Margolis, Mark Steger, Tom Wright, Trey Holland, Andrew Varenhorst

Almost every night, the home of single mother Madison is visited by ominous ghosts. Despite being approached by a pushy and rather oddly behaving real estate agent, Madison herself enlists a paranormal expert to drive out evil in the house. However, the plan soon falls apart. All she can do now is investigate on her own, together with her new partner Nikolai. And what the two discover then defies all imagination. Together with her son, daughter and Nikolai, Madison decides to confront the devilish figures.

Contrary to many genre contemporaries, ‘The Diabolical’ does not leave much room for introductory reflections. Where most horror films start with an introduction of the main characters and subtle jump scares, director Alistair Legrand immediately falls for the door. The strange guises that plague Madison and her children, for example, come into the picture early and in full regalia. The effect of this approach is twofold. On the one hand, it is refreshing, since the ‘run-up phase’ to the essence in many horror films is too extensive and long-winded. On the other hand, it does come at the expense of the atmosphere and tension build-up, two often underestimated factors that are essential in the traditional production of a quality horror film. For example, check out the original versions of ‘Fright Night’ and ‘The Fog’ to see examples of suspense building at its best. ‘The Diabolical’ sheds a lot of its gunpowder at an early stage, leaving (too) little to the viewer’s imagination.

In addition, the lack of introduction also comes at the expense of character building. The characters remain somewhat flat, so that as a viewer you do not always empathize with their terrifying fortunes. Fortunately, this is partly made up for by the decent acting, in which lead actress Ali Larter (known from the ‘Heroes’ series and the Resident Evil franchise) stands out positively. The effects are reasonable; not spectacularly good, but clearly superior to B-movie level.

From the moment we discover the origins of the gruesome invaders, ‘The Diabolical’ changes from a classic haunted house movie to a science fiction in disguise. Although that move is surprising and daring, the finale does seem a bit strange and artificial. The final resolution feels more like a classic case of deus ex machina than an ending born of logical character choices or the result of an organic thought process on the part of the scriptwriters. The final verdict? A reasonable film that, however, rarely succeeds in distinguishing itself from the gray mediocrity.