By

The Diabolical

Well-acted but less-than-scary paranormal thriller

A single mother must deal with paranormal apparitions and an intense presence in her home that won’t let her children leave. It scares away paranormal researchers. That kind of thing. I don’t know. Perhaps horror buffs will be more attuned to the subtleties of the formula.

It’s well-acted—even the child actors are not annoying—and the production values are good, but I found it less than scary and kind of dull. A little ambiguity goes a long way in this genre, but this offers more than a little. Not satisfying. And the trick ending raises more questions than it answers. (86 min)