Search - Black Serenade on DVD


Black Serenade
Black Serenade
Actors: Eusebio Poncela, Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verd, Fele Martnez, Silke
Genres: Indie & Art House, Horror, Special Interests, Educational
R     2004     1hr 50min

A psychopathic killer selects his victims from the internet and begins preying on students at a university in Salamanca, Spain. The victims are selected based upon their grade point average-- eliminating failing students. ...  more »

     
1

Larger Image

Movie Details

Actors: Eusebio Poncela, Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verd, Fele Martnez, Silke
Genres: Indie & Art House, Horror, Special Interests, Educational
Sub-Genres: Indie & Art House, Horror, Art & Artists, Educational
Studio: Lolafilms Home Ent
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen - Closed-captioned,Subtitled
DVD Release Date: 10/26/2004
Release Year: 2004
Run Time: 1hr 50min
Screens: Color,Widescreen
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 0
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Languages: Spanish
Subtitles: English

Similar Movies

Stormy Weather
Director: Pedro Olea
2
   NR   2006   1hr 27min
Mar Rojo
Red Sea
Director: Enrique Alberich
1
   UR   2008   1hr 31min
Jericho Mansions
5
   R   2004   1hr 38min
Lolita's Club
1
   NR   2009   1hr 40min

Similarly Requested DVDs

Undercover Brother
Full Screen Collector's Edition
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
   PG-13   2003   1hr 26min
   
Sideways
Widescreen Edition
Director: Alexander Payne
   R   2005   2hr 6min
   
The Breed
Director: Michael Oblowitz
   R   2001   1hr 31min
   
Breach
Widescreen Edition
Director: Billy Ray
   PG-13   2007   1hr 50min
   
Grindhouse Presents Death Proof - Extended and Unrated
Two-Disc Special Edition
Director: Quentin Tarantino
   UR   2007   1hr 53min
   
Justice League - The New Frontier
Single-Disc Edition
Director: Dave Bullock
   PG-13   2008   1hr 15min
   
Invisible Target
Director: Benny Chan
6
   UR   2008   2hr 10min
   
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Widescreen Edition
Director: Mark Waters
   PG   2008   1hr 36min
   
The Forbidden Kingdom
   PG-13   2008   1hr 44min
   
Mirrors
   UR   2009   1hr 50min
   
 

Movie Reviews

In Spain, everyone can hear you SCREAM
Jimmy Wagers | CA USA | 11/14/2004
(2 out of 5 stars)

"DARK MINSTREL would probably be a better title for this 2001 Spanish flick (aka TUNO NEGRO) that does a pretty good job of mimicking American teen slasher movies and Italian giallos. Alex (played by Spanish sex symbol Silke Klein) is a new student at a University where pupils soon find themselves being brutally stabbed to death. The killer, who wears a minstrel outfit and labels himself the "Dark Minstrel," communicates with Alex through the Internet, leaving her clues as to who the next victims will be. Soon Alex and her pals discover that the killer has been moving from one university to the next, eliminating only the worst (ie. failing) students.

The murders are graphic and bloody, but far from believable or logical (at one point the killer offs a professor, which seems to contradict the killer's motives), so anyone expecting an intelligent and realistic thriller should pretty much throw those expectations out the window. Instead, BLACK SERENADE tries to be both serious AND tongue-and-cheek -- a jumbled mix of banal and wildly over-the-top elements that doesn't really mesh, but does provide for some stylish sequences. One of the murders (a burning) makes for a bravura visual setpiece and one scene in which a drugged-out character gets killed is shown in a gruesome but visually inventive manner.

Still, if this were an American movie it would be instantly forgettable. The plot is full of holes and obvious red herrings, the tone is all over the place, and the cast looks too old to be students. The film is redeemed somewhat by its attractive Spanish locations and the interesting plot device involving minstrels and their historical significance. Silke, who was excellent in Julio Medem's TIERRA, makes for an intriguing (if somewhat detached) heroine and shows off her knockout body in a rather erotic, nude sex scene that is almost worth the price of a rental.

The DVD from Studio Latino looks fine, but the so-called "Deleted Scenes" special feature merely shows a bunch of scenes that are already in the movie!"