Diabolique (1996)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Jeremiah S. Chechik

Writers (WGA):

Pierre Boileau (novel) and
Thomas Narcejac (novel) ...

Release Date:

22 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Two women. One man. The combination can be murder.

Plot:

The wife and mistress of a cruel school master collaborate in a carefully planned and executed attempt to murder him...

Plot Keywords:

School | Mistress | Murder | Murder Plot | Remake

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sharon Stone	...	Nicole Horner
Isabelle Adjani	...	Mia Baran
Chazz Palminteri	...	Guy Baran
Kathy Bates	...	Det. Shirley Vogel
Spalding Gray	...	Simon Veatch
Shirley Knight	...	Edie Danziger
Allen Garfield	...	Leo Katzman
Adam Hann-Byrd	...	Erik Pretzer
Donal Logue	...	Video Photographer #1
Diana Bellamy	...	Ms. Vawze
Clea Lewis	...	Lisa Campos
J.J. Abrams	...	Video Photographer #2 (as Jeffrey Abrams)
O'Neal Compton	...	Irv Danziger
Bingo O'Malley	...	Gannon
Stephen Liska	...	PHP Officer

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/terror, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34415) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 (w) | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Harmony, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

ABC Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: The lines of text on the computer monitor reach the bottom of the screen start scrolling. In the close-up, the text is just starting to be written again.

Quotes:

Voguel: My idea of the Heaven is a place where they screw you barefoot!
Nicole: [Laughing] You make me wanna pass a hat for it.
Voguel: [Smiling] Don't feel sorry for me!
[about his ex]
Voguel: I got him be left
[Pointing her removed breast]
Voguel: Every cloud has a silver lining, and he was too dull to kill
[She stops to smile. About Mia]
Voguel: What about her? Did she want to kill her husband?
Nicole: Why would she want do that?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Version of Les diaboliques (1955)

Soundtrack:

In The Arms Of Love

DIABOLIQUE a diabolical debacle

Diabolique (1996) Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani, Chazz Palminteri, Kathy Bates, Spalding Gray, Shirley Knight, D: Jeremiah S. Chechik. Revamped version of the 1955 French thriller, with Palimenteri as a tyrannical boys-school headmaster done in by the joined forces of his mousy wife (Adjani) and icy blonde mistress (Stone) in a murder plot they wrongfully assume is foolproof. First-rate performers can't serve justice to this diabolical debacle, which doesn't start off too bad, then goes astray. This unspeakably bad rip-off trashes the classic original with too many `oh, come on' moments, ridiculous red herrings and twists of its own, and a finale right out of a slasher flick. Bates is even gone to waste as a retired detective who's investigating the case `for something to do'. Running Time: 107 minutes and rated R for nudity and sexual content, violence, and some language. * ½