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Diary of a Madman

Diary of a Madman

Horror · 1963

Simon Cordier, a French magistrate and amateur sculptor comes into contact with a malevolent entity. The invisible - yet corporeal - being, called a "horla" is capable of limited psychokinesis and complete mind control.

Movie details

Diary of a Madman

“The most terrifying motion picture ever!”

1963 Horror 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

Simon Cordier, a French magistrate and amateur sculptor comes into contact with a malevolent entity. The invisible - yet corporeal - being, called a "horla" is capable of limited psychokinesis and complete mind control.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Diary of a Madman?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Evil of Frankenstein

The Evil of Frankenstein

Horror · 1964

Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?

Silver Bullet

Silver Bullet

Horror · 1985

The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…

Tourist Trap

Tourist Trap

Horror · 1979

After their car breaks down, a group of young travelers find themselves stranded at a roadside museum run by the enigmatic Mr. Slausen and populated by his collection of life-like wax mannequins.

Mark of the Vampire

Mark of the Vampire

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The Tingler

The Tingler

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A pathologist experiments with a deaf-mute woman who is unable to scream to prove that humans die of fright due to an organism he names The Tingler that lives within each person on the spinal cord and is suppressed only when people scream when scared.

The Asphyx

The Asphyx

Fantasy · 1972

Hugo is a brilliant turn-of-the-century scientist, loved and respected by his family and friends, admired by his colleagues. But he is a man quickly becoming obsessed with a curious and frightening question...What is the mysterious apparition found in the photographs of his dying subjects?

Night Watch

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A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Reginald Le Borg

Written by

Robert E. Kent

Vincent Price

Vincent Price

Simon Cordier

Nancy Kovack

Nancy Kovack

Odette Mallotte

Chris Warfield

Chris Warfield

Paul Duclasse

Elaine Devry

Elaine Devry

Jeanne D'Arville

Ian Wolfe

Ian Wolfe

Pierre

S

Stephen Roberts

Captain Robert Rennedon

Lewis Martin

Lewis Martin

Father Raymonde

Court is in session

Put Diary of a Madman on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.