Diabolic uses a backwoods Mormon community to combine elements of witchcraft with folk horror. While some of the narrative’s execution doesn’t always work, the film does have some great scares, startling imagery, and a foreboding atmosphere. This is a stylish movie slightly flat on characterization, but at the very least, it’s definitely worth a watch.
Director Daniel J. Phillips’ film stars Elizabeth Cullen as Elise. She’s an artist who’s stuck in a lot of ways, including in her relationship with her boyfriend, Adam (John Kim). Something traumatic happened to Elise before she was excommunicated from the Mormon community. She has blackouts and fragmented memories of her past, but she can’t quite piece anything together. Because of that, she agrees to “exposure therapy,” meaning immersing herself in the community and source of her trauma as a means to overcome it. So, she ventures to the backwoods, with Adam and her best friend, Gwen (Mia Challis). Once at the community, they tough it out and camp, and they’re assisted by Hyrum (Robin Goldsworthy) and Sister Alma Jessup (Genevieve Mooy), two practitioners who give them hallucinogens to help guide their spiritual journey. It’s unclear why Gwen and Adam need to partake in the ritual, since they’re not the ones who need to overcome their past and return to their place of an intense baptism to do so. Regardless, it’s a great scene, and Sister Alma senses that a sinister spirit possesses Elise. She pulls it out of Elise through her mouth, and it appears in the form of long and bloody black ponytail. It’s one of the most affective and surprising scenes in the movie. After that, the trio are warned to get out, and they should have listened.
Suddenly, the trio are affected by strange and unsettling visions. It also alters their behavior. For example, Adam becomes moodier and lashes out at Elise for no good reason, before apologizing a few minutes later. It’s unclear if it’s the ritual that affected them, or the spirit that was apparently “freed” from Elise and can enact great attacks. Meanwhile, we learn that Elise was excommunicated because she had a lesbian relationship with Clara (Luca Asta Sardelis), the bishop’s daughter. Instead of leaving, as they were warned they should do, Elise insists the trio stay just a little longer, so she can uncover what happened to Clara.
If the film has one major flaw, it’s the execution of some of the narrative, especially Clara and Elise’s backstory, and some of the characterization. Other than Elise, the others have little substance, especially Adam and to some extent, Gwen. They have little to do other than stand beside Elise as she tries to figure out her past and overcome it. That said, the movie’s visuals, score, and imagery are all quite effective, establishing a warning early on that Elise never should have returned to the Mormon enclave.
Diabolic is a witchy movie with elements of folk horror and possession. Its strengths reside in its atmosphere, score, and creepy imagery. While some of the narrative and characterization fall flat, the film still warrants a watch. At the very least, the visuals conjure a few good scares.
