Will success spoil Sharon Stone? Doubtful. She hasn't acted in any film I've ever seen, and she doesn't start in this exceptionally campy remake of the classic 1954 French thriller by director Henri-Georges Clouzot. Gene Siskel called Stone "sensational" (which should be grounds for a mandatory brain scan) as the mistress of a sadistic school headmaster (Chazz Palminteri). Here, she teams up with the headmaster's world-class wimp wife (Isabelle Adjani) to off the bugger--only the body takes a powder (disappearing early, Palminteri saves face). The camera cheats in ways that the original never did, but smart pups will figure out the mystery anyway. Except for the amusing supporting performance by Kathy Bates as a nosy private dick, Diabolique's only value is in the oodles of bad dialogue badly delivered by Stone and Adjani. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)
Diabolique
(Warner, 108 min., R, avail. July 30) Vol. 11, Issue 4
Diabolique
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