MovieChat Forums > Diamond Skulls (1991) Discussion > Excellent, disturbing film which deserve...

Excellent, disturbing film which deserves to be rediscovered


This is a quiet little psychological tension building thriller which is shamefully overlooked. Everytime I see it I discover a new wrinkle to the story which is about Gabriel Byrnes's obession over his wife's infidelity.
However the catch is that the story never actually reveals if his wife is cheating on him but rather leaves it up to the viewer to decide.
In the mean time the tension continues to build after a "murder-accident" takes place in the first five minutes of the film and Byrnes begins to apply the pressure to his wife whom is excellently portrayed by the beautiful Amanda Donohoe. Is she cheating on him or is his obsession leading him towards a mental breakdown? There are clues which tease and lead the audience to conclusions but doubt is always present. The actors are marvelous, the cinematography is dark and moody, the direction is well paced and allows the story and characters to develop and the plot is intelligent. This is a film bulit on substance and style.
You can find this on ebay under it's alternate title "Dark Obsession". It is currently only available on vhs and it is well worth adding to any film collection. If you love thrillers (intelligent ones), if you love Hitchcock and movies that propel you to think then you owe it to yourself to see this film

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I agree. A classic. The year after this, Amanda Donohoe did a film almost as good for BBC: The Laughter of God (1990). Check out the hype on this film!
Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099992/board

I think that 'Diamond Skulls' was better, although a few people prefer the other.

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[deleted]

It's interesting that it got two thumbs up from Siskel & Ebert back in the day, but now only garners a 4.8 rating on IMDb. Wonder where the disconnect is?

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