Day 35: Diabolique (1955)

“Diabolique,” the French spine tingling thriller from director Henri‑Georges Clouzot, is a suspense picture before its time. With its well developed characters and poignant forshadowing, the film develops above its simple premise and delivers a tense tale that has had a noticable impact on many classics of its genre, in both how they told their story and how they filmed it.

In the picture, Clouzot tells the story of Christina Delassalle, a wealthy teacher and owner of an all-boys boarding school, who is mistreated, both phsyically and verbally, by her husband Michel- the school’s headmaster. In fact, Michel is disliked by almost all at the school for a multitude of reasons. He punishes the student’s too harshly for even the smallest of offenses, penny pinches when its not necessary, and even has another teacher, Nicole Horner, openly as his mistress.

Oddly enough, Christina and Nicole are not enemies, but actually united in their hatred of Michel and his mistreatment of them both. Finally sick of his abuse, the two conspire to kill him and set up the “perfect” murder, which neither can be blamed for. It goes off like a charm and all that’s left is for the body of their one time lover to be discovered as the victim of an ”accident.”

But the revelation never comes as the body has disappered and strange happenings imply that Michel may still be out there. Unsure of what to do, the guilt ridden Christina is on the verge of confessing and Nicole must keep her at bay until Michel shows up- either dead or alive.

As a film, “Diabolique” remains a favorite in the hearts of suspense lovers everywhere due to its lasting impact on the thriller genre and several classic films. With its use of shadows and extreme close ups to portray intensity, Clouzot was one of the leading minds, including the great Alfred Hitchcock, in the belief that the most terrifing is, not what is displayed to the audience, but what is left unseen. Using this method leads to an ongoing frustration in the audience, who agonizingly waits for the reveal of the hidden, but generally recieve nothing in return till the climax of the film. In “Diabolique,” Clouzot shows off this standard of suspense plotting perfectly, allowing the audience to only know and see what Christina and Nicole do and, in turn, share their terror.

It is said that, before starting work on “Vertigo,” Hitchcock had his writers watch “Diabolique” to better understand what type of film he hoped to make- a sure sign that even “The Master of Suspense” owes a great debt to Clouzot and his film.

To learn more about “Diabolique,” check out Criterion’s page here.

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