Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Diabolical’

Written by Scott Edwards

​There are things that go bump in the night, I have seen and heard them all of my life, but never have I thought of these sounds to be ghost related. I am sure that when I was younger, I was afraid of the Boogeyman since I would never let my door be fully closed, much less not have a night light. There are things that hide in the dark and only come out to play when provoked, but what if they really had it out for you? There are many ways to get away from these unseen threats that hide in the shadows, and the first one is to just leave them be, if you don’t disturb them, they will not disturb you, or so you think.

Madison is alone with her kids for the first time in her life. After losing her husband, she has been having a hard time in keeping her life in check but is trying her best. With summer break upon her and with the kids at camp during the days, she has found that the house is not the same, but not because of their absence, but because of her uninvited guest. When trying to go to bed after the sun has gone down, Madison is attacked by a ghost, and she knows that she is not the only one in the house experiencing this strangeness. 

Young Jacob and his sister Haley are at a loss for what has happened to their father and want to do something to help their mother in her time of need, but they are so young and do not have much more to give then their love. Jacob has been acting out as well, taking the fight to bullies that have made fun of him for losing his father, or just are rude to his sister. Being required to talk to a counselor about his troubles, Jacob is starting to get better and after six long months of visits, he is almost in the clear. Madison is happy to see that her son is doing better, since she sees a lot of her late husband in him when it comes to rage and knows that currently living in the house is not helping him, or her family in the slightest. 

Younger Haley has seen the ghost and talks to it on a regular basis. Jacob has heard the conversations in her room and even though his mother does not believe him, he knows that it is true. As the nights continue to get worse in the house, and the attacks start to get more violent, Madison has had enough. When her children are grabbed by the ghost and given some sort of burns, she is ready to leave and stay with her boyfriend for the night. But when getting to the front steps of the house, both of her babies fall ill. Needing to keep her children in the house, Madison stays home with them and tries to find out what is really happening. Searching the internet endlessly, she finds a similar story that came from a scientific research facility, but little does she know what it means when the entities keep coming back for her and her children.

I did enjoy this movie quite a bit after the story started to move and the family's back story was finally told. I like how the ghosts were able to move around the house at will and that an electrical event always happened when they either arrived or disappeared. A different idea overall about a house haunting that did not disappoint in my mind. I really liked young Jacob’s character in the movie, he is the young hot head that will say or do things that are right in his mind and I can identify when it comes to that, but I do not remember going off the rails and breaking a kid’s nose, although that scene made me laugh a little bit. Some of the effects in the movie are shoddy, but if you focus on the story that is being told, the effects are only a small part of what is really happening. It's a good little movie with a twist ending that will leave you shaking your head. Stay Scared.

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