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The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.
Yes. Diabolique is a remake of Les diaboliques (1955), which was based on the 1952 novel Celle qui n'était plus (She Who Was No More) by French writers Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. The novel was adapted for the 1955 movie by French film-maker Henri-Georges Clouzot and was further adapted for this movie by American screenwriter Don Roos.
When comparing a classic to a remake, there will always be those who prefer one over the other. A better question might be How does the remake differ from the classic? The first and most obvious answer is that the remake is in color, the actors are contemporary, and there's more sex and nudity . For some viewers, this is all it takes. Other changes include the setting (changed from France to Pennsylvania) and the character names, e.g., Christina and Michel Dellasalle are now Mia (Isabelle Adjani) and Guy (Chazz Palminteri) Baran, Commissaire Albert Fichet becomes Detective Shirley Vogel (Kathy Bates), and the mysterious subplot involving Moinet is all but forgotten. Some viewers have pointed out that Guy is not portrayed as the monster he was at the beginning of the 1955 movie, but Sharon Stone is thought to do a good portrayal of Nicole Horner, although some viewers have complained that she was colder than Nicole as played by Simone Signoret. The movie follows the 1955 plot fairly closely, including the scenes at Nicole's house (in Pittsburgh rather than Niort), the bad food at dinner, the bathtub, the swimming pool, Guy's suit, Mia's weak heart, etc. There are a few added subplots involving photographers, abuse and cancer survivors, religiosity, an unwanted pregnancy, and lesbianism, and more emphasis is placed on the detective's attempts to unravel the case. The biggest complaint is that the ending of the movie has been significantly altered
In the stress of wondering what happened to Guy's body, Mia's heart condition has worsened. One night, she runs the water for a bath but hears a noise, so she goes looking to see who it is. She sees a computer screen that is typing over and over: All is forgiven. I'm waiting for you. Guy. Terrified and convinced that God has sent Guy back to get even, Mia runs back to the bathroom, only to see Guy's body lying submerged in the bath water. Suddenly, he begins to rise from the water and scares Mia into a heart attack. Guy gets out of the tub and removes the white contacts from his eyes just as Nicole walks into the bathroom. Nicole reveals that she tried to call Guy in order to call it off, but Guy is hyped over their success at pulling off their plot to kill Mia. Suddenly Mia's eyes open. When Nicole begins to panic, Guy socks her in the abdomen and Mia goes running. Guy chases her down the stairs and out the back door where he tries to drown her in the swimming pool. Nicole bashes Guy in the head with a garden rake. His head all bloodied, Guy falls into the swimming pool while Nicole attempts to revive Mia. Suddenly Guy grabs Nicole and pulls her into the pool with him. As Guy and Nicole struggle, Mia enters the pool. She and Nicole manage to hold Guy underwater until he finally drowns for sure. Detective Vogel walks over, slugs Mia in the face, and says, "This will make it easier to claim self defense". In the final scene, Nicole apologizes to Mia, and Vogel lights up a cigarette.
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