When we watch a film, most of the time we're engaged in some form that allows us to feel part of it. Jump scares, the moment of cringe when we get a close up of a needle going in, or the relief you can feel from someone escaping death, these connect us to the screen. With Scherzo Diabolico, I felt less personally engaged and more like I was a voyeur to our main character's life. Spying on him while he has his breakdown and develops his subsequent plot. It felt perverse at moments to see his planning and begin to have that become my engagement with the film. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here...
Scherzo Diabolico is a film out of Mexico where we follow Aram, an accountant that, despite his hard work, is under compensated by his manager. Aram formulates a plot to kidnap his boss' daughter and let the mental breakdown of his higher up lead to the manager's removal so Aram can move into his position. It works, but the emotional trauma to the girl leads to her finally being triggered and she seeks out revenge.
This film falls under the "thriller" umbrella much more than horror but it was a good watch regardless. Each character is defined well in their role. Aram himself is done in such a manner that even if you wanted to celebrate him getting his due recognition you can't because of the layer of scum that surrounds him. It's not just a greasy film that encircles him, but it's revealed that he is covered in it as the movie progresses.
When I started this review I mentioned that I felt more of a voyeur. I saw a review on IMDB where someone complained about this movie being non-engaging. I think it just depends on how you watch this film as to what your engagement really becomes. I enjoyed it, but odds are I'll probably never watch it again.
I give Scherzo Diabolico 2 day of the dead masks out of 5:
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