User reviews

Allow me to dissect "The Diabolical". Don't be distracted by the definite article "the" in the title as though the movie is about a diabolical being or entity exclusive to all other diabolicals. You might be disappointed if you don't find THE Diabolical.

The movie is about a single mom and her two kids experiencing some strange poltergeist type phenomena at their home. The boy, Jacob (Max Rose) has the very practical and logical idea of moving (it was quite refreshing to hear someone say, "Let's get the bleep outta here"). When the mom, Madison (Ali Larter), decides that her son may actually be on to something it is too late.

With all haunting movies there is always the "why" that must be unearthed. In the midst of finding out the "why" we are to be treated with some delectable scares and some spooky stuff along the way. "The Diabolical" is not a true poltergeist movie although it flows like one. Delightfully it breaks the mold just a wee bit and gives us something more than just a frolicking angry ghost.

Diabolical is insanely dull. It portrays so many haunting stereotypes in alarmingly uninteresting ways. The focus on drama is appreciated, although it dawdles needlessly for half the runtime, and even then it falters with lackluster attempt in horror and poor design for the creature. At the end it tries to pull off a nifty twist, but unfortunately audience would already be disenchanted by the clumsy execution.

An entity binds a single mother and her two children to a particular house. What follows is average haunting gimmick which other movies have done better. It often stays too long on certain scene or abruptly changes tone with several supporting characters, either ways it doesn't pay off in the slightest.

Ali Larter as the mother does a decent job on creating some family drama, however the tired theme of single mother struggling grows old too fast. She faces mortgage issue, visits from social services and even bullied by strange entities. It becomes mundane later on, not to mention the other characters seem like extras without much personality and the things they do sometimes defy logic as they wander aimlessly.

All of those flaws can be forgiven, as most horror tend to skimp on narrative, but The Diabolical is simply not frightening. Practical effect is poorly done and the special effect looks awfully fake. The design for creature might be decent for the first or second time it appears, but this is the case of not showing too much can be more effective, which doesn't help much since the movie can't set up any suspense regardless.

The effort to create drama is decent, but it soon becomes repetitive and tedious, especially when the movie can't deliver any horror, thrill or even the slightest tension.

I'm sorry but this film wears a hat way too big for it, and clearly oxygen didn't get to its brain anymore.

If you decide to watch this, you should be prepared to get quite annoyed by the plot, like it really is too much for such a little movie and and keeps getting worse and worse by each frame. It was rather difficult to watch it entirely and I fear you will be experiencing the same thing too. One pill hard to swallow!

Positive aspects? Not that many. Acting was decent, actors were OK, movie itself tho, gets a 4 from me. It was one bad movie, and I tend to be quite tolerant to the horror genre.

Cheers!

This is the first review I'm writing since EVER because I really have to rectify all these bad ratings and reviews for this movie. First of all, the title is super misleading. This is not a ghost movie. It's more of a mix between horror and science fiction. This movie is nothing like the traditional ghost story, probably why most people are so disappointed.

I've seen people reviewing this movie who turned it off after only half an hour screen time: BIG MISTAKE! The story starts to take shape after 45 minutes and it gets really interesting from there. Small details reveal the plot and even though not all is clear at the end, I understand that some people might not get it at all and just sign it off with a low rating.

I have to admit that the plot feels a bit messy, you get dropped off in the middle of the story with creepy entities appearing and not knowing what has happened to the family beforehand. But give it a chance. You might be surprised. It is obviously not the best movie ever, but I appreciate that the makers tried something different. It's just a shame that the big audience will never like 'different' kind of movies. Many of my favorite movies have bad ratings on IMDb. Honestly, this movie is better than some blockbuster movies who appeared in the cinema. But I guess there is no arguing about matters of taste.

And to people who say that the house is too expensive for a single mom: you probably mean 'too expensive for a unemployed single mom'. Because if not, you're being really sexist.

If the movie didn't work out as it was expected to, it's only because it has nothing to do with the amount of """scary""" movies we're watching for years. But when it comes to this movie, it's a total different thing.

At first, it starts like a more intelligent horror movie because the characters show smartness, are interesting and even if you feel like you can predict what's happening next, it won't change the fact that there is a feeling that it ain't any ordinary horror film.

Then, searching for explanations, we finally manage to make our own idea of what's going on and it might be on of the most interesting strength here : it's open to suggestion.

Whether you might not like the movie because it's too different in some way and not surprising enough during most of the film, i felt like i was thrilled to watch a movie way more original and creative than most of those i watch.

If you haven't watch it yet, start it with the idea that it won't be casual horror. And then you might enjoy the surprise the movie is.

The Diabolical is Alistair Legrand's debut feature, and right out of the gate he's made quite a memorable film. The strengths of the film lie in the look of the film and the writing. This low budget feature looks far better than it has any right to. In this era of found footage horror it is refreshing to see a debut that goes for a cinematic look as opposed to a thrown together shaky cam look. The story is very solid, though hard to speak of without going into spoiler heavy territory. Legrand has taken a standard ghost tale and added some fun twists to the third act that elevate The Diabolical well above its brethren. We'll leave it at that so as not to spoil the fun.

The movie is great for those that want a mix of horror with sci-fi and a focus on character. If you are looking for someone to get offed every 10 minutes this movie is not for you. This is not a slasher, or even a traditional ghost story. It takes its cues equally from ET as it does from Poltergeist. If you want great atmosphere, characters you feel for, and a plot that engages your mental faculties you will have a great time with the movie! Looking online it seems some folks have been a bit confused by elements of the plot, but if you are a viewer of any sophistication that should not be the case. You don't get a Psycho shrink laying it all out for you at the end, but the plot twists in the third act are clear if you're paying attention.

If this first feature is any indication, we have a lot to look forward to from Legrand! Here's hoping this unique take on the ghost story manages to find its audience.

First of all, there is nothing diabolical about this movie, so I am not sure why this title is chosen to be put as a representation of this movie!

It is maybe diabolically empty and meaningless film.

If I am not giving one star rating or two is because I think the boy actor is good. The scientist / lover is cute. The woman is interesting. But all this just if viewed for themselves.

My main problem is ... the movie starts with this creature coming after the woman and she is repeating: It is not real, it is not real ... and the creature disappears. And if I understood correctly that is what happened some time after the movie really begins. Because why she is running away and does what she does if she knows that is not real?!

And plus, if a little girl knows who is the 'diabolic' and later the woman too knows... why she is doing all those meaningless things like fighting the creature, doing tests, calling help and so on ?!

Really don't know what to think about all. I believe the story ( which is kinda explained in the last 5 minutes of the film) is interesting but the film itself is poorly done and does not hold your attention. I would not say it is boring, but completely flat and not interesting.

3 from me. Though 2 may be more correct.

Sorry but the constant use of music and sound effects even during conversation is insanely annoying and completely kills any sort of immersion. The movie is just torture because of the sounds. They are not creepy, interesting, emotional nor add anything to the film. At one point I thought there was something wrong with the film like a technical issue or something, but no, it is actually part of the film.

I could not make it to the end. I had to stop and I have no idea what the movie itself was about. I know there was some sort of ghost but it was not scary or anything of the sort. The kids and mother seemed to be familiar with it so they didn't try to do anything to get rid of it... at least I think that was the case because again, I was too infuriated by the annoying sounds to actually want to follow the story.

This movie tries to hard and fails miserably at being a horror, (?) or even to make sense. It is beyond dull and will lose your interest within 15-20 minutes. The 'entity' is neither scary or convincing. The effects/makeup are overdone and look very plastic and cheap. The direction is terrible and it seems as if they couldn't decide on what genre they wanted to make this movie to be...Horror? Sci-fi? Suspense? There are plenty of movies that can pull off the multi-genre pretty well. This is not one of them. This movie pulls off nothing in fact. I really could not recommend this movie to anyone other than someone who is having a hard time falling asleep. This would be sure to cure anyone with insomina. Yes, it is that bad....

The middle is where it get's interesting. You find yourself with a "Feeling" about what is going on. There are small clues that begin to tie in and if you are a cerebral movie goer then by 3/4 of the way you have everything figured out.

I liked where it was going. I predicted who was who and expected the proverbial catch-22.

Then the movie went south. In the last 45 seconds the movie undid all that it had built up. Interesting writing, good acting and then a plot that fell flat on it's own face.

It's hard to give a movie a good rating, even if 76% was done well. We all remember the bad things about people before the good and a movie is not much different.

I am unsure if the writer just ran out of ideas or did not like how limp it would have been if ended 3 minutes earlier. Sure it would have been a bit of a "Yawn" but it would have been a 5. No, let's add that final scene and drag it down to a 4 or 3.

So, be warned. What you think is the end, is not. What is left as a "Ah, that is why" comes up as a well.....they can't do that now moment.

Do not do anything until this is out on netflix or Amazon. Seriously, the ending was so flat in what is closed then opened then changed that you will be mad if you even find it at Redbox and pay .99 :)

For a low budget film with its share of flaws, there is a lot to enjoy here with some creative twists. It's a movie you need to commit to thru the end and give it time peel away its layers.

Nothing earth shattering, but I've seen so much worse. It definitely earns a well worth the watch. It's probably a 5 star movie, but I gave it 7 for the clever surprises.

Not a bad way to spend 90 minutes on Netflix.

I wrote a long tirade about how dumb this movie is... but I deleted it. It's enough to say that: It's nowhere near as clever as it seems to think it is. The FX are kind of lame... IMO they looked like something from the '80s. None of the characters behave in a believable manner. It adds nothing new to the cliché of the evil corporation conducting cruel experiments. It's not scary, creepy, atmospheric or surprising. The cast were all decent actors but still composed of the same blandly attractive people we see in most mainstream movies... and the house is the same bland/anonymous home that's devoid of any evidence that real people live in it.

That's enough to keep me from recommending it to anyone.

The Story was a bit messed up and not fully together, but it was still interesting enough for a cheap sci-fi horror.

Honestly, it's difficult to know what to say. I have a very high tolerance level for bad films, but this only made it through to about 30 minutes before I turned it off.

There is an incredibly annoying soundtrack constantly playing in the background. The acting is diabolical (perhaps the inspiration for the title?!?). The story line is awkward in the extreme. Some of the CGI looked stolen from the first Nightmare on Elm Street film. All of the classic clichés were utilised - kids being sent back in to a clearly dangerous house on their own to get a phone, the 9 year old son, who is fully aware of the fact there's a deformed, scary as sh1t (supposedly) ghost roaming around the house is, seemingly, so hungry he didn't mind going downstairs in the middle of the night to grab a sandwich. In the dark.

Goodness me: please, do yourself a favour and avoid this film. Even if you think you like horrors, and can watch pretty awful ones (which, let's face it, lots of them are), this is one to avoid.

All I can say is, if you are desperate (or silly) enough to watch it after reading this far, then please make sure you don't pay for it.... people/companies that make films as bad as this should never be allowed to do so again, and should definitely not make any money out of it.

Struggling to keep up with her daily demands, a single mother trying to keep her family together finds a vicious spirit is out haunting their house and keeping them there which forces her to turn to her new boyfriend to help aid her in stopping the tormenting experience.

This overall is a rather typical and clichéd haunted house story. What really tends to work well here are the intense and genuinely frightening scenes of the ghosts doling out the scares here which happens to be somewhat interesting. The fact that we're let on fairly early into the film that he hauntings have been continuous for awhile, as the initial scene of it appearing behind her in the living room coincides with the revelation of not wanting another encounter to occur again before ripping its face off for the terrified viewer, the scenes of it appearing to be a sort of imaginary friend to the daughter offer up some rather tender moments and the rather obvious scenes of the figure coming out of the walls or floors of the house give this a decidedly creepy feeling. Even the later scenes, showing the creature manifesting itself in the home in front of her and the boyfriend gives this some nice action with the way in which they get chased through the house in quite fun manners while the defense barricades used are the probable cause into letting the twist of the film come about which is admittedly quite nice. While the film does have a nice final confrontation in the house where they get to fight it one last time on their own terms, there's not much else to this one that really works as the film as a whole is quite flawed. The biggest issue here is the fact that the film goes for drama rather than horror, so the majority of the film is determined to go for the other exploits of the chosen drama rather than scares. Since she has all these outside issues to deal with, from the house being in foreclosure to the fact that she obviously recently lost her husband and is dealing with her kids' own behavior that it just feels like too many story lines that don't really belong in a horror film since these drag this to a halt after exceptionally chilling sequences in order to deal with these slow- paced sequences. That also has the other big detrimental factor of giving this one a really jarring tone which really disrupts the supernatural antics since that turns the scenes into rather useless moments because they don't offer any kind of impact if the film moves on from them quite readily. The twist is also problematic, offering up a rather needless change away from what had worked for it leading into the moment and it leaves this one feeling pointless after a while. These here really lower this one considerably.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language and children-in-danger.

The story is ridiculous, the acting is terrible and I could create better special effects with my phone! Totally pointless and unwatchable!