Very slow boring start then all the horror comes at you all at once the flat line dead ending acting was okay script needed some work felt unfinished could have had potential but it flopped

I wasn't familiar with this movie prior to finding it in the horror section. I was instantly drawn to the title and decided to give the movie a go after having seen the movie cover. I didn't read the synopsis, nor did I know who was in the movie. And as a life-long horror fan, of course a movie with a visual presentation such as "The Diabolical" had it would be hard not to pick it up.First of all, I must say that the movie was off to a great start, because it starts out quite intense and throws you right into the events. And I will say that the movie doesn't really slow down in pace, which was a good thing, as director Alistair Legrand managed to maintain that level of pacing and intensity throughout the entire movie.And I liked the intro sequence. Now that is something that I rarely do comment upon, because it is usually not a big deal. But the intro sequence used in "The Diabolical" was very interesting and intense. I liked the visual effects and the music was just outstanding.They had a pretty good ensemble of acting talents on the cast list, and I was genuinely pleased when I saw that Ali Larter had the lead role in the movie, because she usually do pretty nice work in her movies. But it was also a nice surprise to see Merrin Dungey in this movie, as was it nice to see Patrick Fischler here as well.The visual effects and special effects in the movie are quite good and very convincing and believable. And having such effects is very important for a horror movie, because it makes the movie have all that more impact effect. So thumbs up on the special effects crew whom worked on "The Diabolical". The creature designs were also very interesting and quite intense."The Diabolical" has a really nice music score to go along with it, and it serves as a great atmosphere builder. It is subtle enough to be background music, yet outstanding enough that you do take notice of it. The music was good at bringing out the suspense and atmosphere in the movie.The build up of events and happenings throughout the course of the movie was quite nicely done and nicely orchestrated. Although I must admit that towards the end then the movie was losing momentum and I didn't personally care much for the development of the story as it turned out. Sure, it was unpredictable as it changed, but it just became to be a bit too much. It wasn't within my range of liking. Sure I do enjoy a good plot twist, but this was just too far out there, and it sort of spoiled everything that was previously built up during the movie.As for the title of the movie, then it made very little sense, and it was a very poor choice of a title for the movie actually, because it had nothing to do with the storyline. There was nothing diabolical to be seen or experienced here as a matter of fact.I really enjoyed "The Diabolical" quite a lot right up until the reveal of the events at the end of the movie. Then the entire thing came tumbling down hard and fast. My rating of the movie ends on a mediocre 5 out of 10 stars because of this horrible gutting of an otherwise great movie.

This film gets a few stars because the acting is okay, and the atmospheric, eerie setup is fine. But the payoff! Oy! It's like a horror writer wrote the first hour, then the studio fired him, then a science fiction writer was brought in to finish the script. And since it appears like the sci-fi writer didn't read the horror writer's notes, the two ends of the movie don't match up.In the end, the flick is all about the boy, 40 years in the future, coming back to...terrorize his family? Why? What';d they do to him? What did he do to himself? If he was coming back to terrorize his family disguised as a poltergeist, how come they suddenly can;'t leave the house, and if they do, start cracking up like vampires in sunlight?I have seen some bad movies in the past, but this one takes the cake. Like I said, the movie gets points because the first hour or so was fine even if it was reminiscent of other films like Poltergeist, Dark Skies, etc. The ending, though. What a mess.

Allow me to dissect "The Diabolical". Don't be distracted by the definite article "the" in the title as though the movie is about a diabolical being or entity exclusive to all other diabolicals. You might be disappointed if you don't find THE Diabolical.The movie is about a single mom and her two kids experiencing some strange poltergeist type phenomena at their home. The boy, Jacob (Max Rose) has the very practical and logical idea of moving (it was quite refreshing to hear someone say, "Let's get the bleep outta here"). When the mom, Madison (Ali Larter), decides that her son may actually be on to something it is too late.With all haunting movies there is always the "why" that must be unearthed. In the midst of finding out the "why" we are to be treated with some delectable scares and some spooky stuff along the way. "The Diabolical" is not a true poltergeist movie although it flows like one. Delightfully it breaks the mold just a wee bit and gives us something more than just a frolicking angry ghost.