The Diabolical - Das Böse ist zeitlos

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.

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 :)

If you like Ali Larter you won't mind what I or anyone else for that matter will be writing about this movie. If you do care about story, you may find that there are better horror movies out there of course too. But you can't deny the movie that it does create a really nice (scary) atmosphere with some fine scares scattered along the way for the viewer to enjoy and be scared by.

Ali Larter may not have the meatiest role to play with, but she does the best she can with a situation that is anything but ideal (pun intended). Her character has a lot to go through and while there may be some easier solutions to some of the issues she's facing, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the movie nevertheless

I guess I agree with most here (well, except the obvious 10 Star review where their summary is 'NOT THAT BAD, REALLY'... HUH...??!

Anyway, the first thing FWIW that struck me was that the Blu-ray has a REALLY Lame@ss look to it. Man, for a new film it is honestly one of THE most drab and unattractive Blu-rays that I've ever seen.

Next, the film... well... I really can't say it any better or add much more than most others here. Just not very good at all. What's odd though is that you almost really WANT it to work, I don't know, maybe because of the Old-School vibe or something. I WILL say that I friggn' LOVED the old, Art-Deco fan that they showed in the beginning! Awesome! But, that was about it.

Usually in Horror films like this that aren't very good, it's almost invariably ALWAYS the acting that is the culprit. But, at least I have to admit that it wasn't really the acting, per se, that bothered me. NORMALLY it irritates the living $hit outta me, but here that wasn't really what was wrong. I guess it was just the director's approach. It's like things were just too 'Pat' or something. For example, the boy is walking down the stairs at night, and OOH, ahead of him visible only to the audience, the kitchen light flickers... Again, OOH...

So, really not much to recommend here. Like I said, I am actually VERY surprised that for ONCE out of all these really lame modern Horror movies, that it truly was not horrendous and torturous acting that put me off. I actually lasted about 25 minutes (one reviewer above made it to about 30 minutes) There just wasn't enough there that I was remotely interested in.

Others are commenting on some 'Time Traveling' element. With the bland start of this film, I think I actually would have REALLY welcomed some Time Travel, because at least that might have given it some MUCH needed substance or interest for the audience to grab onto.

As it was, not really...

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.