While Stephen King might be more popularly known for his horror movies, his psychological thrillers remain some of his best work. Sure, the elements are there even in his most hardened horror novels and adaptations, though some works—Dolores Clairborne, Misery—are, at their core, psychological thrillers with a razor-sharp horror edge. A great way to think about them is King trying to instill some Hitchcock ethos into the contemporary age, and largely, he’s been pretty damn successful at doing so.
Hitchcock, of course, needs no introduction, and audiences largely (and rightfully) regard him as the master of suspense. Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, and Shadow of a Doubt are personal favorites, and there are few weak links among the master’s entire filmography. Of course, Hitchcock wasn’t the only early auteur dabbling in new and subversive suspense techniques, and one particular film arguably exceeded even Hitchcock’s best. It’s a movie famed horror author Stephen King says out-Hitchcocks Hitchcock himself, and now you can catch it streaming on Max.
Learn more about Henri-Georges Clouzot’s masterpiece Diabolique below:
Per Max: A cruel man’s wife and lover plot to kill him.
Les Diaboliques (released as Diabolique in the United States) might well be the finest suspense film ever released. Sure, it’s perhaps best remembered for its shocking, unmatched final twist, but focusing only on that does a disservice to Henri-Georges Clouzot’s remarkable work otherwise. Diabolique is dripping with atmosphere and menace, and it’s a key reason Hitchcock himself was inspired to adapt Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho in 1960.
In an interview with Time Magazine in 2011, Stephen King shared, “The single scariest moment I have ever had in entertainment came during Diabolique. It is the moment when the corpse in the bathtub opens its eyes and shows nothing but bulging whites.” King would later expand, adding the aforementioned comparison to Hitchcock himself. And he’s not wrong. Few movies are masterpieces, though Diabolique assuredly is. With it streaming now on both Plex and Max, make sure to check it out as soon as you can. Assuming you can bear the suspense, of course.
What do you think? Are you a fan of Diabolique? Any plans to check it out on streaming? Hey, even if you’ve seen it, it’s absolutely worth introducing someone new to. If you do, let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins. Hey, you might even feel inspired to watch the Sharon Stone remake…
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