A classic from French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot, Les Diaboliques tells the story of a despicable headmaster, Michel Delassalle (Paul Meurisse), who is killed by his long-suffering wife Christine (Véra Clouzot) and schoolteacher Nicole Horner (Simone Signoret). Clouzot manages to masterfully blend elements of horror and thriller while still finding time to inject some vital humour into proceedings. The film also manages to have its characters encapsulate the film-noir archetypes of the innocent saint in Christina and the femme fatale in the bullish Nicole. Despite the occasional gags, Les Diaboliques is a genuinely frightening experience. As the corpse of Michel slowly raises itself from the bathtub, staring with the whites of its eyes at its widowed wife, it is not hard to empathise with Christina as our hearts too are racing (though, thankfully not to the point of a heart attack as with her). Were not going to spoil it for those of you who are yet to see Clouzots superbly scary comic-horror, but suffice to say the film has more than a few unexpected twists.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
