[Film Review] Nightmare Symphony (2020)

Directed by Domiziano Christopharo and Daniele Trani, Nightmare Symphony (2020) is a love letter to Italian film director Lucio Fulci and the giallo murder mystery films from the 1960s and 70s. 

Nightmare Symphony is centered around director Frank (played by actual director Frank LaLoggia) as he struggles to finish his latest cinematic offering: A Peacock’s Tale. Between navigating disputes with the screenwriter and investors, and trying to avoid his own existential crisis, life begins to imitate art as those around him are killed off one by one by a mysterious masked figure. 

To say that Nightmare Symphony is a tribute to Lucio Fulci is an understatement, in fact, it directly derives both its title and general premise from Fulci’s Nightmare Concert (1990, also known as A Cat In A Brain) in which Fulci plays a fictional version of himself as a disturbed filmmaker suffering from violent experiences both on and off set. However, as much as this film is a blatant borrowing from one of the masters of Italian horror, Nightmare Symphony doesn’t come across as a watered down imitation. The movie, written by Antonio Tentori, is a loving tribute to the stylish Italian murder mystery films that gripped audiences through the 1960s and 1970s known as giallos. The genre term giallo (Italian for yellow) is derived from the cheap paperback crime novels that had yellow covers. 

The strength of Nightmare Symphony lies within its dedication to the giallo tropes. The antagonist remains a mystery throughout this film, disguised by a rather comedic looking peacock mask (I’m still trying to figure out how the murderer could see out of that thing!) and, whereas in traditional giallos the killer wears black leather gloves, in Nightmare Symphony, the murderer’s hands are adorned by white pvc gloves peering from beneath a billowy new romantic lace sleeve. The cinematography is stylised, experimental and very well could have come from a 1970s Italian thriller. And just like any giallo worth its salt, Nightmare Symphony has a dizzying soundtrack and an original main score theme by Fabio Frizzi (A Cat In A Brain/Nightmare Concert) which only adds to the tension and violence of the film’s atmosphere.

The special effects are the stand out MVP in this film. The gore is portrayed unabashedly and the camera lingers uncomfortably long, just like the traditional giallo. Although some of the murder scenes are seriously hammed up by the actors, the up close examinations of a chelsea grin in progress and the obligatory eye violence that is expected from Italian horror are carried out with glee, as if we, the audience are viewing from the killer’s perspective.

The downfalls of Nightmare Symphony are some moments of confusion within its storyline. At one point we see the director Frank is being stalked by a woman, and whilst this plot point was maybe included to throw off our suspicions of who the killer may be, after her death, her inclusion in the plot  or who she is, is never explained. And while I do appreciate a good old ambiguous ending, it does not serve the film well in this instance and leaves questions unanswered and not in a fun, philosophical way.

All in all, Nightmare Symphony is a fun and stylish ode to the golden age of Italian horror cinema with the added bonus of expertly detailed gore.

Nightmare Symphony is now available for purchase on Tetro Video!

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