Diabolique (1955)

A French horror film that still packs a wallop in entertainment, style and performance… It is a study of human evil and its all too real spiritual effects. Who the ‘devils’ of the title actually are, is debatable, but what we witness is an evil plotting that outdoes itself in psychological malevolence. The Director cleverly subverts Catholic imagery to create what is anti-Catholic, in other words, a parody of the good. Water, thus, has great significance in this film, but from the opening shot, it is water that is dirty, murky, and unclear. Evil is made present in different levels and to different degrees within the characters but we only realise the full extent of it at the climax of the film. Along the way we are thrilled, captivated, horrified – and finally, grateful to have had the experience and even more grateful that we can leave it behind.

Warning: The reflections below are full of spoilers. The aim is to share these insights with all who are inspired to watch these films and help to draw out even more from the experience. So watch the films first and read the reflections afterwards…

IN THIS POST

*Temptation and Evil in ‘Diabolique’ by Pablo Vila

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Temptation and Evil in ‘Diabolique’ by Pablo Vila

Looking back on the movie Diabolique, I was left with a sense of awe at the premeditated malice that can possess some people and wonder at how we deal with this is in today’s modern world. Presenting us with a moral quagmire, the story leads us to half sympathize with the main characters when they murder the tyrant head master of the DelaSalle school. We watch them have to deal with their heavy consciences as strange things keep inconveniently arising that bring their secret murder to the forefront of their thoughts and others, especially the vulnerable and troubled wife of the murdered man.

As the suspenseful and horrifying truth comes to light at the film’s climactic end, we are left stunned by the degree of planning, how far people are willing to go to exploit other’s weaknesses and trust, and how people can carefully create a web of doubt and fear in another person. While we are somewhat relieved by the apparent justice metered out at the end of the film (at a terrible expense), we are led to question our own weakness, lack of faith and susceptibility to temptation as well as how easily we might be led astray by evil. We might never be trapped in such a diabolical situation as the one depicted in the film but evil and temptation is never far away in life and we all wrestle with our struggles against sin and living an authentically good life.