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.
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.