Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Daniel J. Phillips
Starring: Elizabeth Cullen, John Kim, Mia Challis, Robin Goldsworthy, Genevieve Mooy
We've seen numerous Italian, Canadian and British horror movies go out of their way to fool the audience into believing they're actually watching an American horror movie. Diabolic is a rare case of an Australian horror movie in American drag, and it puts on a fairly convincing show. The Australian backwoods prove a convincing stand-in for their US equivalent, but it's the focus on a uniquely American phenomenon that seals the deal.
The movie introduces us to the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, an extreme and obscure offshoot of the Mormons. Some opening text details how the sect numbers around 10,000 members who engage in the controversial practices of polygamy and underage marriage. The same text also claims Diabolic is inspired by real events, though given what transpires in the course of the movie, that's a very liberal definition of "inspired."
One of the FLDS' most icky practices is that of baptising the dead without their consent. This is done by baptising a living member of the church in the deceased person's place. This means that members are forced to endure having their heads dunked under the water numerous times. It's essentially waterboarding, a form of torture so cruel that event the US military has banned its use. Diabolic employs this ritual as the basis for a knockout setup. While being waterboarded/baptised as a proxy, teenager Elise (Elizabeth Cullen) has an underwater encounter with the spirit of a witch who really doesn't like the idea of being baptised beyond the grave.
Having left the church soon after this incident, we catch up with Elise a decade later. She has muddled memories of her time with the church, and her experiences have left her with an extreme case of PTSD. She's prone to violent blackouts, one of which sees her butcher the neighbour's dog. Her therapist gives Elise what seems like terrible advice. He believes her best way of getting over her past is to confront it head-on by returning to the FLDS compound and letting its members pump her full of hallucinogens. Elise reluctantly agrees and sets off with her outwardly supportive but insensitive boyfriend Adam (John Kim) and her best friend Gwen (Mia Challis).
Elise's return to the compound triggers memories of Clara (Luca Asta Sardelis), a young woman with whom Elise appears to have been more than just good friends. Taking some of the cult's best psychedelics, Elise has an extreme reaction, coughing up black goo and envisioning a demon rising from the sticky mass. But the next morning she claims she's never felt better, and insists on sticking around for another day in the hopes that she can fully regain her memories.
It's no surprise that hanging around a cult doesn't lead to anything positive, as it becomes clear the witch Elise encountered 10 years earlier has once again latched onto her.
Diabolic is a horror of the slow burn variety, with director Daniel J. Phillips patiently teasing out the full extent of the horror set to unfold. There is a subplot concerning the waning state of Elise and Adam's relationship, which has been significantly strained by her behaviour, and this helps to humanise the leads amid all the supernatural mumbo jumbo. The American accents of the Australian cast vary in quality, but the actors do a good job. Cullen delivers a very sympathetic performance that makes us care about Elise's worrying predicament.
It may test the patience of those who just want to see some gory witch action, but Diabolic certainly delivers on that front in the final act. If you appreciate old school practical effects of the variety you might have seen in a '70s Italian Exorcist knockoff, you're in for a treat. The over the top finale makes it clear that this story is about as true as the one Joseph Smith dictated to his wife two centuries ago.
Diabolic is on UK/ROI VOD from May 25th.
