Mozart Is a Murderer / Mozart è un assassino (1999)

The wrong note at a recital given by Professor Baraldi's most gifted music majors sets the stage for serial murder…

Director Sergio Martino returns to form with a good old fashioned giallo that benefits from a clever premise, good acting, a generous budget, and the sure hand of an old pro. All the trope are there: a black-gloved killer, a bizarre motive, a busy stiletto, taunting telephone calls, POV stalking, a troubled detective, unsavory suspects, red herrings, a decent body count, an intriguing title that figures into the plot, and a major cliché near the half-way point that'll telegraph the killer to any slasher film aficionado. The set piece slaying isn't as ostentatious as the ones in Golden Age gialli and more gore would have been a definite asset but the director's distinctive flair is still there and the movie delivers its genre's goods in an entertaining manner.