Scherzo Diabolico

Aram is a hard working lawyer who isn't getting the financial recognition that he feels that he deserves. Also his marriage is on the rocks, though him having a mistress hardly helps. So what does he do? He kidnaps a teenage girl who he locks up in an abandoned old factory, forcing her to strip,etc. Further on into the film it is revealed that this is actually the daughter of his (former) boss, this ramps up what was otherwise a somewhat plodding plot. And this girl is hellbent on getting revenge! Initially a bit of a slow burn but the tension and action ramps up for the final part. The movie has sex, nudity and some very strong, bloody violence. A dark thriller with horror elements, I wouldn't describe it as a black comedy though. Spanish language, I watched with English subtitles but the acting seemed ok. Not the "true masterpiece" that the DVD cover promised but it proved to be an engaging watch with a few twists and enough sex and violence to maintain my interest.

I was looking for something a little different from my standard horror fare this evening, and I certainly found it in Scherzo Diabolico, a twisted little thriller from Mexico that starts off intriguingly, gets progressively darker along the way, and closes in a manner that is satisfyingly raw and shocking.

Aram (Francisco Barreiro) is a dedicated defence lawyer whose hard work goes unrewarded by his boss. Nagged by his wife about his lack of success in climbing the corporate ladder, he puts into action a desperate plan. After seeking advice from one of his dodgier clients and taking lessons in tying someone up from the hooker he regularly visits, Aram abducts his boss's teenage daughter Anabela, keeping her held captive in an abandoned factory. Driven crazy by worry, Aram's boss finally loses the plot whilst at work and is shown the door, with Aram taking his place. Having achieved his goal, Aram releases the girl believing that he is in the clear, but even the best laid plans can go awry…

Directed at a measured pace by Adrián García Bogliano, Scherzo Diabolico isn't exactly a roller-coaster ride of action and suspense, but it is thoroughly engrossing throughout, Aram's plight clearly leading to disaster for the lawyer; the 'fun' is in waiting to see exactly how his scheme falls apart, and how he tries to deal with the tricky situation when it does. Suffice to say that it all gets very messy (quite literally at times, thanks to some very graphic violence), with Anabela, psychologically scarred by her ordeal, proving to be more of a handful than Aram could have ever imagined.

Never becomes engaging. I'm a Adrian Garcia Bogliano defender, I've found most of his films to be enjoyable to out-right guilty pleasures. This one is the first I couldn't find anything redeeming in.

A basic premise - sad sack accountant works for bad people, wife and kid hate him so he becomes a crazed psychopath kidnapper, but only to up his position in the world. He isn't THAT bad (for a movie like this) - there's nothing perverse that he does (he only implies) and yes he tazes his victim but its for compliance and not for the joy of doing so. He even buys her a diabetic conscious diet. He's kind of a loser but suffice it to say that the ending is wholly unbelievable and not exactly cathartic. It's not really justified, and that fact in itself doesn't seem to be some kind of comment either.

This movie is named after a classical piece. It has a hellacious sounding name and it plays a part in the movie but doesn't add much.

This is gritty low budget at its best (if you are into that kind of thing of course). It's also as unsettling as it gets. Be it the first part or the latter part where it all comes back (more or less - probably more, but that's in the eye of the beholder). And while you feel the pain and anger from our main protagonist, you also feel that he is terribly wrong in doing what he does.

Does that all have to culminate the way it does? Probably not, but how else would the movie be able to shock you back into the middle ages (almost literally with what happens). It's not wrong to feel disgusted by any of this, because enjoying this would be the wrong feeling. Accepting this as artistic form on the other hand is the one thing you may have to worry about ...