Nerdly » ‘Diabolik’ Review

25th Oct2022

‘Diabolik’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Luca Marinelli, Miriam Leone, Valerio Mastandrea, Alessandro Roja, Serena Rossi, Luca Di Giovanni, Claudia Gerini, Vanessa Scalera, Roberto Citran, Guglielmo Favilla | Written by The Manetti Bros., Michelangelo Le Neve | Directed by Antonio and Marco Manetti

I’ve been a fan of the Manetti Brothers – Antonio and Marco – since the first time I saw their fantastic sci-fi horror The Arrival of Wang way back in 2012. Since then the pair have directed numerous films, including Paura 3D and the action ‘Mafia musical’ Love and Bullets. The pair also produced Daniele Misischia’s fantastic zombie film The End?, which screened at Frightfest in 2017… Why mention those films? Because all of those films have – unfortunately – faded into obscurity on these shores since debuting at films festivals here in the UK. Hopefully Diabolik, the duo’s latest film based on the classic Italian comic book anti-hero of the same name will not suffer the same fate, especially given the Manetti’s have not only filmed a sequel, due out in their home country, Italy, next month. But there’s also a THIRD film in the series scheduled for 2023!

For those unfamiliar with Diabolik, he was created by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani in 1962 and was very much of the time. A comic book anti-hero and thief who was not only inspired by the mystery novels of the era, gialli – the same novels that inspired an entire genre of horror in Italy – but also inspired many a production in the West. Hell, even Marvel’s X-character Fantomex is directly inspired by Diabolik!

Given that it has been decades since the character appeared on the big screen (his last outing was a Saban Entertainment co-produced cartoon in 2001 for Fox Kids) Diabolik retraces the very beginnings of the character. Set in the fictional city of Clerville, the films sees Lady Eva Kant, the widow of a wealthy South African businessman and soo to be fiancé of Deputy Minister of Justice Giorgio Caron, arrive in the city and is immediately met by Inspector Ginko, who warns her that the infamous Diabolik will make attempt to steal her fabled Pink Diamond. Which he does. However the two are instantly attracted to each other, so when Diabolik’s double life with Elizabeth Gay sees him caught by Ginko, the two team up to free Diabolik from the guillotine and free Lady Kant from her blackmailer, one Giorgio Caron…

From the get-go audiences will notice that there’s a very retro look to the visuals of Diabolik – the colour scheme used seemingly trying to recapture the looks and feel of 60s cinema. In fact, in some scenes you could almost mistake the film for a modern colourised movie… It’s a definite stylistic choice and one that really works for the film, even more so given that the character of Diabolik rose to fame in the 60s and 70s. Whilst this iteration captures that tone in in visuals, even down to dramatic lighting a la the spy capers of the era, but is still very much a modern film, utilising modern techniques and modern effects to tell this story – which is essentially the same story as told in Mario Bava’s now classic Danger: Diabolik – yet the attention to detail means Diabolik remains very traditional, both to the character and the time period.

That feel of being a period piece extends to each and every aspect of the film. The Manetti Brothers employing each and every spy trick in the book in this film, so much so it feels like it could have been made in another era completely – complete with trap doors, secret lairs, truth serum, disguises, etc. It’s all very Mission: Impossible like… and I mean the original show NOT the Tom Cruise movies! There’s also a reals sense of grandeur and theatre that comes with the way the film harkens back to another time, elevating this film somewhat above its pulpy origins.

Though for all its “retro” feel, you could also consider this iteration of Diabolik as the Italian’s attempt at a Christopher Nolan take on the character. Like Nolan’s Batman, which may have featured the same character as the 60s TV show and the latter more-kitsch Joel Schumacher 90s Batman films, but which felt totally different to them, so does the Manetti’s version of Diabolik. And whilst their film isn’t as dark as Nolan’s Batman, it does feel as serious and brooding. Combine that with the trappings of classic pulp spy tropes and you really have something special.

What’s also special about Diabolik are its two leads. Luca Marinelli, as the titular Diabolik, is cold, calculating and stoic. Except for when he’s around Miriam Leone’s Lady Eva Kant. Then his guard drops, he shows an inkling of emotion, so much so that – comes the film’s conclusion – he doesn’t kill Inspector Ginko even though he could have very easily. And what wouldn’t Diabolik soften at the presence of Eva Kant? Miriam Leone, the real “star” of the film, exudes a classy air of sexy sophistication and steals every scene she’s in. By the time she’s become Diabolik’s partner in crime it really feels, thanks to Leone’s commanding performance, that she could do what Diabolik does without him! Both are ably assisted by Valerio Mastandrea as Inspector Ginko, who plays their antagonist, the pipe-smoking policeman, as if he’s stepped out of a classic noir like The Third Man directly into the events of this film. Mastandrea’s performance puts Inspector Ginko right up there as one of my favourite modern-day “detectives” outside of Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc in 2019s Knives Out.

Stylish and sophisticated, Diabolik is a brilliantly pulpy spy-come-heist thriller that confirms my love of the Mannetti brothers work is not unfounded. It’s just a shame that this film probably won’t get the type of acclaim it deserves outside its native country.