Diabolique (1996)

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik [Other horror films: N/A]

So I’ve never been the biggest fan of the 1955 French classic this film’s a remake of. The story is fine, but I just think it’s a bit slow. I didn’t expect to care for this any more than the original, but though I hate to say it, if I’m being honest, I do think I marginally preferred this one.

I still think the film overall is around average, but I did find it more palatable. If I had to watch either this or the 1955 movie again in the next ten years, I’d lean toward this one. Things move a bit quicker, there’s a bit more suspense at times, the finale is more to my taste, and though this might not be fair, it’s nice seeing faces I know.

I’m not even talking about the leads Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani. Both of them were pretty decent, and I think Adjani did a great job. Chazz Palminteri did well as an asshole, and Kathy Bates added some great humor at times (“what is this, a piece of the true cross?”). In fact, I really liked Bates’ character, and it was a nice update from what Charles Vanel did in the original. It’s other small roles that surprised me – Adam Hann-Byrd (the kid who played Alan in Jumanji), Donal Logue (Gotham), and J.J. Abrams (producer of Cloverfield). Even for smaller roles, recognizing faces does a lot for me.

And it helps that the story isn’t a scene-by-scene remake (as Psycho did two years later) – there’s some scenes added here, scenes they chose not to use from the original, and a more thrilling finale, one that I tend to like a bit more. It’s still a longer film – though it’s ten minutes less than the original movie – but it doesn’t feel quite as bad, as we’re given something both up-to-date and new to chew over.

Even though I did enjoy this more than the original, though, it’s still not the type of movie I’d usually recommend. I think it’s decent, and I personally would rewatch it more often than the 1955 version, but it’s still only average in my eyes. Bates’ character and the finale both add a lot to this, and I don’t take that lightly. Not a great film, but honestly, not near as bad as I was expecting.

7/10