I liked immediately his spare style, his tight drawing of characters and locations. With more reading time available than I'd had for some years, and the high cost of books in Australia, it was the only way to viably deal with my very fast reading speed. I first got into Jeffrey Deaver's writing when I used the local library in a suburb of Melbourne over Christmas while on a visit to my daughter. The New York Times gave the film a negative review, calling the film, "somewhat less than eye-opening".The Vanished Man. Reception Ĭritical reception for Diary of a Madman has been mixed. The film was released on DVD by Willette Acquisition Corp. ĭirector Reginald Le Borg said he wanted the voice of the horla to come out distorted, but producer Edward Small wanted it to sound clear, which the director thought was a mistake.
#DIAREY OF A MAN WHO VANISHED MOVIE#
The movie was originally entitled The Horla. Stephen Roberts as Captain Robert Rennedon.Nancy Kovack as Odette Mallotte DuClasse.The priest's opinion is that wherever evil exists, the horla exists. Some believe Simon was mad and that the horla does not exist, others are unsure and believe that the horla might have existed. The film concludes with the people seated around the table after reading Simon's diary. Simon succeeds in destroying the horla, but not without sacrificing himself as the house burns in flames. When his presence is felt, Simon hurls an oil lamp towards the curtains, setting the house ablaze. He lures the horla into his house at night. As his and others' lives are put in jeopardy, he becomes convinced of the horla's existence and decides drastic measures are needed to end its evil. Her decapitated body is found in the river, but her husband (not Cordier) is blamed for the crime. In an episode of insanity, Cordier murders Odette with a knife. This sets up a conflict in Cordier, that he might not be the astute judge of character that his title indicates.
The horla insists the model is not the charming jewel that Cordier sees, but instead a conniving gold-digger, and compels Cordier to treat her as such. Wanting a better life, she claims to love Cordier and he pledges his love to her in turn. The model, a local tramp by the name Odette Malotte, is already married.
Cordier chooses to pick up his old interest in sculpture, meeting a model along the way. The magistrate inherits the prisoner's troubles as the horla turns its hauntings toward him.Īs the horla begins to destroy Cordier's life, he fears he is going mad and seeks help from an alienist, who suggests that he take up a hobby. The horla possesses the inmate and attempts to kill Cordier, who in self-defense accidentally kills the man. It is implied that Cordier's particular horla is one of a whole race of evil beings which devote themselves to driving humans insane.Ĭordier first interacts with the horla when he meets a prisoner whom the entity drove to murder four people. The invisible yet corporeal being, called a horla, is capable of limited psychokinesis and complete mind control. The diary reveals that Simon has come into contact with a malevolent entity. Following the funeral of Simon Cordier ( Vincent Price), a French magistrate and amateur sculptor, his secret diary is read out by Simon's pastor friend to a group of people gathered around the table, Simon's servants, and a police captain.
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