Diabolic Review: Folklore Horror Rooted in Memory, Identity, and Buried Truths

A woman’s fractured past awakens ancient horrors in the folklore thriller Diabolic.

Diabolic Review — Folklore, Identity, and the Cost of Remembering

Rating: 3 / 5

There’s a quiet confidence to Diabolic, the new folklore-leaning horror film from Daniel J. Phillips, that makes it clear this isn’t chasing shocks for shock’s sake. Instead, it’s far more interested in memory, identity, and the uncomfortable truth that sometimes the scariest thing isn’t what’s haunting you—but what you’ve buried.

The film centers on Elise, played with restraint and vulnerability by Elizabeth Cullen, a young woman struggling with fragmented memories and a growing sense that something essential has been stripped from her. That disconnection doesn’t just live inside her—it bleeds into her relationship, creating emotional distance between her and her boyfriend Adam (John Kim), who oscillates between skepticism and concern.

As Elise’s nightmares intensify and her sense of self continues to fracture, it becomes clear that she’s either unraveling—or circling a truth she’s been actively kept from. Reluctantly, Adam and her fiercely supportive friend Gwen (Mia Challis) accompany her back to a remote town deeply tied to her past. It’s a place rooted in family history, old wounds, lost love, and a father whose influence still lingers like a shadow over everything.

And, as folklore demands, returning home comes at a cost.

By stepping back into this space, Elise doesn’t just reconnect with her past—she reawakens it. A long-dormant curse tied to a witch, suppressed memories, and communal secrets begins to surface, forcing Elise to confront not only supernatural terror, but the uncomfortable realities of who she was, who she is, and who she’s been shaped to become.

Diabolic operates largely in the psychological and emotional realm. While there are moments of genuine fright and a handful of effective jump scares, the film is far more invested in internal horror: fear of identity loss, forbidden love, social taboo, and the way communities often disguise cruelty as tradition. As with many folklore-driven stories, the supernatural functions less as the root problem and more as a reflection—an excuse society uses to avoid confronting its own damage.

When the film does lean into its horror elements, it knows how to ramp things up. Certain sequences crackle with tension, and Phillips shows a solid grasp of pacing when it matters most. The question is whether those moments arrive often enough for viewers looking for a more aggressive scare-forward experience.

For some, the introspection may feel heavy. For others, that’s exactly the point.

Diabolic asks you to sit with Elise’s discomfort, her confusion, and her unraveling. If you’re willing to follow her through that emotional descent—and accept that self-discovery can be just as terrifying as any curse—you’ll find a thoughtful, grounded piece of folklore horror waiting on the other side.

It may not push the genre forward in radical ways, but it’s a solid, well-considered horror film that understands its themes and commits to them fully.

3 out of 5 — Horror Movies Uncut