Diabolique (2013 Film) Review and Facts

In this post I will tell you about what to expect from the film Diabloique (2013) by Cosmotropia de Xam, as well as share a few facts about it.

For those who are curious about other Cosmotropia's films, I also have an extensive analysis of his dilogy Phantasmagoria (2017 & 2018) (I loved it even more than Diabolique) and The Inferno Index (2021).

 

Synopsis

In the official description, you can read several intriguing lines about urban vampires using a mysterious drug—"parasitic" milk-looking substance named Esmakra—for enslaving and controlling humans (similarly to E769 from Cosmotropia de Xam's 2014 movie — Metamorfosia filmed six months after Diabolique).

This seems to promise an interesting story. However the film does not unfold this into something bigger. In the whole film, you will witness only a small company of vampires who capture a girl and turn her into a vampire herself.

There are no dialogues in the film. The only voice belongs to the narrator (recorded by Aura—the actress who also played the vampire girl), pronouncing mostly abstracted, senseless (at least for us, simple mortal humans) phrases. Maybe the film has some "deeper meaning" impossible to understand for anyone except the author like it often happens in the world of sophisticated art. Let's consider it a mystery. 

 

What's Good About It

As you have probably already guessed, this is an art house kind of film. It should be watched not for enjoying an exciting storyline, but for an audiovisual experience. Even if you are not a lover of the art house genre, but you like spooky, weird, and obscure films and music, consider watching it.

The shades of mood Diabolique immerses you into can be described as: creepy, dreamy, mystic, weird, disturbing and relaxing at the same time. If you want to spend one hour for this sort of bizarre audio-visual relaxation, Diabolique may be a good solution for you.

Musical Background

The score is perfect here, and quite important—it's actually a music film. This will be even more obvious for you if you are already familiar with the  witch house genre and know who the director is. Cosmotropia de Xam is the leading member of a famous band Mater Suspiria Vision and runs Phantasma Disques—probably the most well-known label, specializing in this kind of music.

The score for Diabolique is provided by such bands as Mater Suspiria Vision, Blvck Ceiling, In Death It Ends and other members of the witch house movement. One of the actors and composers for this film is Günter Schickert—a well-known German progressive rock musician, active since the beginning of the 70's.

Here you will hear mostly heavy, dark and dreamy synthesizer witch house-styled parts, but as well a plenty of psychedelic rock elements reminding Pink Floyd in their period of 68-69, when they created the most bizarre and spooky recordings in their discography: A Saucerful of Secrets and Ummagumma. Or maybe this will remind you scores from...

Eurosploitation Vibe

... 70's european exploitation films. Cosmotropia de Xam is obviously a big lover of this genre, at which the very name of his music band hints. The actors are dressed in a stylish retro fashion, and a vintage filter applied to the footage gives it this 70's-like look. Another detail that makes it close to this kind of films is low budget: while the DIY-way of production is obvious, it feels not as a flaw but as a feature.

In addition, as Cosmotropia points out in this interview, the film was shot in the original locations of Andrzej Żuławski's Possession (1981).

The visual part is interesting on its own. While basically all you see during the film is a company of attractive young people (and one of them is not very young) wasting milk and making faces, it's all wrapped into a bizarre, beautiful play with light, makeup, and digital post-production effects, which in a combination with the music is dragging you into a nightmarish but at the same time comfortable and relaxing state.

 

The music video used as a trailer for the movie doesn't really properly reflect the film's vibe: the clip and the song chosen for it are too dynamic, fast, and there are too many uncomfortable sudden frame flashes that are absent (at least in such amount) in the film (which is good in my opinion). But still, I would not recommend it to anyone with epilepsy: some of the scenes are very bright, contrasting, and colorful.

Interestingly, the film doesn't contain nudity. So you can ask your mom to buy it for you. But better don't watch it together.

 

For the Esmakra addicts, I created these T-shirt designs. Download them for free (as well as my 50 other b-movie shirt prints) and order a shirt from any print-on-demand service you like.

To Sum Up

For viewers who are used to traditional films, Diabolique may feel boring at the beginning because of the long, monotonous scenes without dynamic story development. Don't wait for something intriguing to happen. The best way to enjoy this picture is to try to relax from the start, using the visuals on the screen as the instrument. More like listening to music (just enjoying the sound flow) than watching a traditional film (constantly expecting the next event and wondering what the ending will be).

 

My Parody Videos

Useful Links

• My interview with Cosmotropia de Xam 
  
• My analysis of Cosmotropia's film dilogy Phantasmagoria (2017) and Phantasmagoria 2: Labyrinths of Blood (2018)
  
• Order Diabolique or other Cosmotropia de Xam's films from his own label
  
• Cosmotropia's Facebook
• Mater Suspiria Vision's Bandcamp
  

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