An original remake

DIABOLIQUE Starring Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani. Directed by Jeremiah Chechik. Category IIB. Playing at Astor, Broadway (Kornhill, Kwai Fong, Mongkok, Tsuen Wan), UA (Bonds, Kowloon City, Queensway, Sha Tin, Whampoa), Ma On Shan, Miramar, Park, Silvercord, Windsor.

Modern remakes of films noir often lack the brooding intensity of the originals. Take Martin Scorsese's overblown remake of Cape Fear, or the 1988 reworking of the classic D.O.A., which doctored a brilliant plot out of recognition.

A pleasure, then, to see Diabolique, a remake of the 1954 French movie Les Diaboliques, has managed to retain the bitterness and suspicion that permeates the original.

It is a dark thriller which does not feel the need to smother a riveting storyline with a slick, modern sheen. Instead, it simply updates events and characters to a contemporary setting.

Diabolique is a real head-spinner, with twists and turns that keep the viewer on edge. The film begins with a murder, and then follows the fortunes of the killers as they try to stay above suspicion.

French star Isabelle Adjani plays a nervy boarding-school owner, Mia, who is married to the brutal Guy (Chazz Palminteri). Guy is having an affair with hard-boiled school teacher Nicole (Sharon Stone), who has become increasingly disaffected with his violent and selfish behaviour.