BLACK SERENADE

A mysterious assassin disguised as a black minstrel (the Tuno Negro of the original title) spreads death among university students who failed their exams and are less deserving of attending studies, contacting his victims through some internet chats and recording his exploits with a video camera. After striking, over the years, in many Spanish faculties, the serial killer now sought by the police arrives at the University of Salamanca and begins to reap his victims among the boys who failed the exam sessions. A united group of goliardic students, led by the cold Alejandra Alonso (whom the killer uses to leave his death messages), by the aspiring criminologist Trucha, and by the incurable Don Juan Eduardo, will set out on the trail of the killer trying to put an end to the series of murders and inevitably putting their own lives at risk. Arriving on cinema screens two years after its production, "Black Symphony" fully fits into the new Spanish horror genre led by producer Julio Fernandez (and his Fantastic Factory) and by some directors of undeniable talent such as Alejandro Amenábar of "The Others" and Jaume Balagueró of "Nameless" and "Darkness," presenting itself from the start as a giallo-thriller with vaguely splatter sequences, some splashes of demented humor, and a good dose of female nudity and sex. Unfortunately, this desire to be above all costs represents perhaps the greatest limitation of "Black Symphony," turning the film into a confused cauldron without a true distinct personality: too often the gratuitous and markedly demented humor cancels out the tension that should build up during the viewing, just as too often the beautiful women distract the mind of the disoriented viewer (but in Spain, are all the girls Playboy bunnies?). At some moments, especially during the very violent murder sequences, it seems to be in front of a dark and sick film in the style of Dario Argento (with the necessary differences, of course!), while at others, a markedly goliardic college American atmosphere is breathed, so dear to the horror teenagers from overseas in recent years. There are other moments, then, when it seems to be in front of a soft-porno film, with a series of sequences that, although undoubtedly pleasant to the eye, turn out to be a bit too forced and completely disconnected from the narrative context and the course of events (sequences not cut by chance in some countries, but punctually re-proposed here in Italy where sex always sells well). In any case, the film is worth watching, at times even pleasantly, and must perhaps owe all the interest it manages to capture to the original setting, the hot atmosphere, and the singular characterization of the characters: probably the same film shot in America would have seemed only a poor copy of Wes Craven's "Scream." In conclusion, "Black Symphony," although not a masterpiece, is an enjoyable film provided you can tolerate the already mentioned and complacent vulgarity and dementia that the film is full of and, above all, provided you can overlook the final plot twist that, although decidedly unexpected, may raise an infinite series of questions in the more attentive viewer about so many small inconsistencies that, in the light of the final revelation, emerge with disarming naturalness.