Diabolique (aka Les Diaboliques) (1955) ****1/2
Playing like a cross between Double Indemnity and Gaslight (both 1944), Henri-Georges Clouzot's Diabolique (aka Les Diaboliques) (1955) is a highly influential and expertly executed exercise in mystery, building to a terribly suspenseful twist finale with elements of gothic flair.
Alfred Hitchcock wanted to make the film version of this story of a schoolmaster's wife and mistress who together plot to kill him, but Clouzot optioned the rights to the book upon which his film is based, preventing the more famous director from taking a stab at it. This led to critics to refer to Clouzot as "the French Hitchcock" (which is a bit silly, as really, none of his other films are much like Hitchcock at all). The Master Of Suspense's response to this loss was to make the more well-known and beloved Psycho (1960), of whom the author of that book, Robert Bloch, was stated in an interview to remark that Diabolique was his favorite horror film.
While Véra Clouzot tends to teeter into melodrama more often than not, she does gives a strong performance here and it's a different experience to view this film through the lens of 2019's tense political climate, which seems to be more and more against women and their rights. Regardless of what decade you watch Diabolique though, it's a film that holds up on repeat viewings and remains a classic.
You can find my Henri-Georges Clouzot Feature Films Ranked list here.
Alfred Hitchcock wanted to make the film version of this story of a schoolmaster's wife and mistress who together plot to kill him, but Clouzot optioned the rights to the book upon which his film is based, preventing the more famous director from taking a stab at it. This led to critics to refer to Clouzot as "the French Hitchcock" (which is a bit silly, as really, none of his other films are much like Hitchcock at all). The Master Of Suspense's response to this loss was to make the more well-known and beloved Psycho (1960), of whom the author of that book, Robert Bloch, was stated in an interview to remark that Diabolique was his favorite horror film.
While Véra Clouzot tends to teeter into melodrama more often than not, she does gives a strong performance here and it's a different experience to view this film through the lens of 2019's tense political climate, which seems to be more and more against women and their rights. Regardless of what decade you watch Diabolique though, it's a film that holds up on repeat viewings and remains a classic.
You can find my Henri-Georges Clouzot Feature Films Ranked list here.
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