In case you missed it, there have been a lot of new horror movies these first few weeks of 2026. With so many titles fighting for our attention, it’s easy for a few films to fly under our radar. This is why we caught up with filmmaker Daniel J. Phillips to talk about his new movie Diabolic. The film follows a woman who returns to the place of her religious trauma seeking a cure. She instead discovers a vengeful spirit that has plans for her. We obviously had to chat with Phillips about religious horror, practical effects, and working with Elizabeth Cullen.
Horror Movie Blog: The intersection of religion and horror is one of the scariest intersections for many of us. What made you want to explore this subgenre in your second feature? Or, rather, where did this idea come from?
Daniel J. Phillips: I love religious horror films, but I do think it’s become a bit of a tired sub-genre due to the overwhelming focus on catholicism. I find religion in general fascinating, and in particular, the sects within them that say, “This isn’t actually strong enough for me, so we’re going to become extreme fundamentalists that pretty much embrace the worst parts of these religions.” I wanted to do something involving a witch, but I really just had the visuals and the tone, and didn’t really have a way into the story yet. When I met Mike Harding and Ticia Madsen, they had such a unique take, based on Ticia’s real-life experiences in the Mormon church, and we combined the two to make Diabolic. The world of the FLDS is absolutely fascinating, and we’ve barely scratched the surface with Diabolic.
HMB: What are some of your favorite religious horror films? Were any of them at the forefront of your mind when preparing for Diabolic?
DJP: I’m a big fan of James Wan, which might be apparent in some of the stylistic choices in Diabolic. I think The Conjuring is one of my favourite horror films because there’s nothing particularly novel about the story that makes it different from other films in the sub-genre. However, the direction is so good and so confident that it does stand out as one of the best horror movies I’ve ever seen. It’s just a very well-made film. The Exorcist is also still incredible every time I watch it and is really the foundation for everything else in the sub-genre that followed. I really like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, too. Also, I enjoyed The First Omen more recently and thought that film was a lot of fun.
I think, though, when we were prepping Diabolic, we didn’t really say, “we’ll do something like this.” I think you always try to do something that you love and you think an audience will love, and these influences sometimes color the execution of those ideas.
HMB: Many people are raving about Elizabeth Cullen’s performance. When did you know she was the right person to play Elise? What was it like working with her to craft this very tricky protagonist?
DJP: Elizabeth is one of the best in the business. I consider myself very grateful to have worked with her on this film. Her performance really is the best thing about it, and there’s a lot of weight on her shoulders in this role. I think I knew she was the one after our first meeting. She gave an excellent audition, but auditions are tricky because they are very different from what is actually required of an actor on the day when you’re making the film. It’s tough for a director when looking at self-tapes because you never really know what’s going to happen with someone, regardless of how good they are in that first impression (which Lizzie certainly was).
When we met, though, we had the best conversation about the role, the types of performances that we loved, and what the temperature of the performances needed to be in a film like this. We talked about it being grounded but not hyper-naturalistic, as we were very deliberately trying to lean into certain tropes at the beginning in order to subvert expectations later on. Lizzie really understood what I was trying to do. We were very much on the same page regarding the character. She was a pleasure to work with.
HMB: I’m a huge fan of practical effects and LOVE when filmmakers choose that route when they can. How did Diabolic come to have such cool practicals? Was that always the plan, or did it shift as things moved closer to production?
DJP: I love practical effects too! The reason I chose to go down this road was because I honestly think they just look better. They also result in better performances, too, because the actors can really see what they’re playing with. Sometimes it’s cheaper to use VFX but I find that practical effects have that texture that VFX can’t seem to achieve, unless you have quite a bit of budget, which we certainly didn’t have. We had to fight for every shot on Diabolic. There are VFX in the film, but they are there to enhance real and practical effects (like wire removal, etcetera).
The other thing about practical effects is that it’s a hell of a lot of fun to do them. It really reminds you of your first films you made on the weekends with your friends. Where you saved up for the cool blood pack or made something from scratch to achieve a certain effect. It’s one of the coolest things about making movies.
HMB: This is your second time helming a feature film. What’s one thing you learned about yourself (or your process) while working on Diabolic?
DJP: I’ve learned a lot! We actually finished the film just over a year ago now, and like everyone, it’s very easy to look back at your work and fixate on the things you’d change, or the things that perhaps some people didn’t like. It’s interesting now, starting to see the reactions from critics and audiences (most of which have been very positive), and seeing which ones line up with my own personal opinions about the work. I think after my first film, I realized that I had played it quite safe. So, on this film I really wanted to take some big swings at some things.
There are some stylistic choices I made on this film that were really quite risky creatively if they didn’t work, and I was very pleased to see that they did and that audiences really loved them. So, I think I learned to really follow my instincts. If something feels good or bad, I really need to listen to that and make sure I continue to follow through, no matter what.
HMB: What’s one thing you’ve been dying to talk about (regarding Diabolic), and no one has asked you yet? Please use this question to change that.
DJP: I’ve seen a few very in-depth analyses of the film so far, which is really great. We put a lot of care into ensuring there’s a lot of subtext and depth to the themes of Diabolic. I’d love to talk about Larue – that she’s the representation of all the women the church has wronged for centuries, and it’s her revenge on this institution that the film is really about. It also explores how other institutions, like psychology and the values of modern relationships, can still fail you and aren’t infallible alternatives to the church either. There’s a reason Larue wears a stained pink dress and has ripped out all of her hair (and why hair features so prominently as an element) – it’s about a rejection of the masculine ideals imposed on women inside these institutions.
The other thing is the animals on the pikes – and the meaning of the snake imagery. Some people have totally missed this despite understanding some of the other things we were doing. The animals are all represented in Mormon mythology – each animal represents something. The rabbit is adultery and unclean sexual motivation, the fox is deception and trickery, and the snake is about embracing a healthy sexuality, but also transformation. A snake sheds its skin to become something else, and that’s exactly what Elise goes through in the film. The hair snake pulled out of her is a representation of this, also, as is the snake skeleton at the start of the film. It’s about transformation and the world around her telling her that this is what she needs to grow.
By the end of the film, Larue needs her, but Elise needs Larue too. We say out loud how the animals died so that people can clearly understand that this may be where the characters are very specifically headed.
HMB: What’s next for you now that Diabolic is out in the world?
DJP: I have a few projects in development right now, and I’m having some interesting conversations. I’d love to stay in the Diabolic world too, and make something else if it’s something people want.
HMB: Please let people know where to find you online (if you would like to be found).
DJP: If people want to connect with me, they can reach me on Instagram or through my management at Zero Gravity.
Diabolic is currently in select theaters and available on VOD.
