Anomaly Film Festival 2025 Coverage
Reflection in a Dead Diamond review
A schizophrenic James Bond story told through a fractured lens.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Reflection in a Dead Diamond
Directed by Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani
Written by Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani
Starring Fabio Testi, Manon Beuchot, Yannick Renier, Koen De Bouw, Herve Sogne, Maria de Mederios and Sebastien Landry
Reflection in a Dead Diamond Review
The closing feature of Anomaly Film Festival’s third day was a strange thriller called Reflection in a Dead Diamond. It’s slated to debut on Shudder early next month…which is interesting because it isn’t a horror film. Of course, this is a horror review website and we’re covering it…so there must be some crossover appeal to this movie. It’s trippy and features plenty of blood…and, honestly, it’s far too weird to be easily placed into any single genre. I liken it to a James Bond movie on acid. But we’ll get to that in a moment. First, as with all feature presentations at the Anomaly Film Festival…Reflection in a Dead Diamond was preceded by a short film. It would have been difficult to find something that matches the exact feel of this feature…but Drainomania gets pretty close.
Drainomania is the story of a woman who really doesn’t want to clean the bathroom. Her girlfriend can’t take it anymore…seeing it as a representation of her lack of commitment to their relationship. Katie (Sally Maersk) heads into the bathroom to prove her wrong and ends up going on a psychedelic trip through her own psyche and relationship. There are some funny moments mixed with more dramatic ones. It ended up being a fine fit for Reflection in a Dead Diamond and worth seeking out in its own right.
I didn’t know what to expect from Reflection in a Dead Diamond. Anomaly is a genre film festival…which can mean pretty much anything. Pretty much anything would be a good way to describe what I got from Reflection in a Dead Diamond. It’s a mind-bending tale of espionage and murder…told from a perspective split by time and, perhaps, reality itself. The James Bond analogy is the only one I could come up with to try and ground a summary down to reality.
Ex-spy John (Fabio Testi) gets dragged back into an old case when his neighbor disappears. Maybe. We see a lot of young John (Yannick Renier) carrying out spy missions…slowly revealing his quest to discover the identity of a femme fatale that goes by many faces. Maybe. I keep using that word because the reality of Reflection in a Dead Diamond is as fractured and distorted as viewing thing through a cracked diamond would be.
What we do have is a very stylish film whose story is consistently engaging. What’s real? I probably could place a worthwhile guess after watching the movie…but I might not be correct. Which is the mark of something worth experiencing. I felt completely satisfied with the story even though I am aware it will take several rewatches to be certain about anything.
The story is told in two different time periods. They feel like they are colliding in an increasingly erratic nature as Reflection in a Dead Diamond advances. John may be looking for an answer to an identity…but we’re looking for an answer about reality itself. Did any of this happen? Is the old John remembering cases long past? Or is there a more practical explanation to the heightened reality that young John’s adventures take place in. Reflection in a Dead Diamon has answers…they just (purposely) conflict with each other from time to time.
The movie dips its toe into too many genres to list. It’s a spy thriller, an action adventure, a drama with flights of fancy, a noir/mystery with a touch of romance. There’s blood and laughs and…a lot of time spent wondering what in the world is going to happen next. It would be nearly impossible to predict…which is what makes Reflection in a Dead Diamond so uniquely interesting.
Once you reach the end of Reflection in a Dead Diamond…that James Bond analogy is going to hold a different meaning. If you envision it as a retired Bond looking back on his adventures…you’ll only see part of the story. When the movie gives you an alternate explanation it recontextualizes what that ex-spy is actually looking back on in a brilliant way. It doesn’t undo the Bond analogy…it refracts it through a diamond into something different but equally interesting. Maybe.
Scare Value
Reflection in a Dead Diamond dips a James Bond movie in acid and, appropriately, reflects it through a prism. As stylish as it is trippy…you’re more along for the ride than trying to solve its puzzling puzzle. Some nice gore splashes here and there liven up an already lively experience. You’ve never seen anything quite like Reflection in a Dead Diamond before. But you can rectify that soon enough when it premieres on Shudder.
Reflection in a Dead Diamond Link
Streaming on Shudder December 5th
