Review: ‘Diabolic’ is deliciously diabolical
Filmmaker Daniel J. Phillips makes an early bid with one of the best films of 2026 so far!
Religious horror runs very deep. Historically, it’s a common well filmmakers have drawn from for over a hundred years. Various belief systems, classic iconography, and sacred saints have been repurposed and reimagined, extracting the darkest fears of the human subconscious. With Daniel J. Phillips’ Diabolic, religious trauma takes a front seat in an unstoppable horror vehicle that drives the viewer mad. Terrifying, mind-melting imagery and strong performances across the board make the bedeviling film an early contender for the best of 2026. Phillips, who co-wrote the script with Mike Harding and Ticia Madsen, bulldozes you over before backing up and doing it again. It’s a wholly effective, carefully drawn, and often introspective piece that examines religious fundamentalism and its stranglehold on our culture.
Elise (Elizabeth Cullen) still has not recovered from the deep-seated pain thrust upon her by a childhood contained within a fundamentalist compound. Desperate to heal those wounds, she returns to the now desolate location, nestled in a range of secluded woods and harboring an evil that not even she knows. With her friends Adam (John Kim) and Gwen (Mia Challis), Elise confronts not only her past but something far darker, more insidious, and downright chilling. A sinister spirit of a cursed witch threatens to make her the new host, slowly chipping away at her mental faculties and her physical strength. With reality crumbling around her, Elise loses herself in a diabolical plot of destruction and mayhem.
When the trio arrives, they’re set to meet up with Hyrum (Robin Goldsworthy) and Alma (Genevieve Mooy), two former members of the fundamentalist group, to help Elise overcome her demons, literal and figurative. What begins as a simple ritual is anything but. The witch possesses powers far stronger than even they could have anticipated. It doesn’t take long before the witch makes contact and seeks to rip them to shreds.
Phillips, Harding, and Madsen craft such a wonderfully witchy slice of folk horror. It borrows traditional elements while also molding expectation into gnarled and withered branches that are uniquely refreshing. In Phillips’ very capable hands, the story comes throbbing to life and delivers several punches to the cranium. It’s not enough to understand folk horror’s rich and vast history, but it’s another beast to fuse those mechanics into something altogether original. Cinematographer Michael Tessari guides Phillips’ instincts to offer up some unsettling images that you won’t soon forget, cementing the film as among the cream of the crop.
Diabolic doesn’t just beckon the monsters out of the closet. It lets them run amok across a crackling backdrop, underlined in red by Will Spartalis’ equally unnerving score. All elements converge to elicit bone-rattling thrills and chills that you’ll never be able to shake. Daniel J. Phillips, a relative newcomer, demonstrates a real knack for horror storytelling that should produce an impressive and compelling career. You heard it here first.
Diabolic hits theaters on February 13 before dropping on VOD a week later.
