Mr_Ectoplasma "StageFright" (released under varying titles such as "Deliria," "Aquarius," and "Bloody Bird") follows a group of stage actors who are working on an overnight rehearsal for an impending production about a serial killer. When the costume designer is killed in the parking lot that evening, the rehearsals must go on—police are enlisted to watch the building, and the cast and director lock themselves inside. Little do they know, they've also locked in a maniac who recently escaped from a mental institution.In many ways, "StageFright" is about as run-of-the-mill as it could get. The premise is not remarkably original or interesting, and the "escaped lunatic" archetype feels familiar and lazy. The set-up which contains the characters (who are themselves varied in personality) in the theater also seems a bit odd in context. In spite of this, "StageFright" is insanely fun, playfully creepy and chock full of suspenseful scenarios and clever murder sequences that are surprisingly visceral. The villain dons an oversized owl mask from the production, which is surprisingly sinister in appearance.The kills come in rapid succession until about midway through, until the final girl is left to her own accord, which makes for some of the film's most intense and clever scenes. Chase scenes through the rafters, down darkened hallways, and beneath the stage are colorful, well-shot, and well-choreographed. Accentuating the thrills is a jarring late-eighties metal score which does date the film and sound a bit silly at times, but it comes with the territory. The production values are high, which also elevates the proceedings.Overall, "StageFright" is a wildly entertaining slasher flick that is marked by well-managed suspense, brutal murder scenes, and competent direction. Original it is not, but Soavi and the cast hit their marks here. It is a generally clever, well-paced slasher flick; of the crop of them that appeared in the late eighties, it's among the best I've seen. 8/10.

Dagon Not to be confused with Alfred Hitchcock's 1950 crime drama (entitled Stage Fright), StageFright: Aquarius is a product made possible by Italian director Michele Soavi. The name may sound unfamiliar to the majority of you; he worked as a director and producer on 1994's Cemetery Man and served as an actor for films such as in Paura nella città dei morti viventi (Gates of Hell from 1980) and Lo squartatore di New York (The New York Ripper from 1982) – both of which were directed by the master of horror Lucio Fulci. Soavi also had the privilege of working with Dario Argento; in 1982 he served as an assistant director in the infamous giallo Tenebre. Three years later he would appear not only as an actor but also a Second Unit Director once more in Phenomena and Dèmoni. StageFright: Aquarius is the result of a man who has worked closely with the forerunners of Italian horror.The story opens with a dramatic theatre scene that's cut short by the play's director, Brandon. After he thoroughly berates the production's leading lady, Alicia, she secretly leaves the building to have a doctor treat her sprained ankle. Alicia, paired with her with fellow theatre companion Betty, have no choice but to seek help from the local mental hospital in order to receive treatment. There, they happen-across a dark room that houses a mentally disturbed patient. They learn of the man's back-story; Irving Wallace, an ex-actor turned criminally insane.After their return to the theatre, Brandon notices that Alicia was absent and promptly fires her. Her dismissal results in a grisly discovery in the parking lot – Betty, who was just moments behind her before entering the building, is now dead. The death requires the involvement of the police and two men are stationed outside of the theatre. At the request of the production's director, the key to the facility is hidden and everyone is forced to rehearse new material – unfortunately the key holder is butchered and the thespians inside are trapped and forced to deal with a maniac on the prowl.The sets and imagery portrayed in StageFright: Aquarius are slightly reminiscent to the final portion of 1983's Curtains. The dark, quiet- as-a-church theatre provides an eerie setting that does an excellent job of elevating the mood. Some of the more successful Slasher films have focused on this aspect. Slasher films have the on-going issue of predictability, and while that's part of the charm and silliness, emphasizing the film's surroundings is crucial in setting it apart from the rest of the pack. The premise, and more importantly the outcome, may play out too clichéd to help capture the fancy of casual fans. Regardless of Michele Soavi's close ties with Italian horror, one shouldn't expect any sleaziness or exploitative themes expressed within. This serves as a surprise to me since Joe D'Amato (director of Anthropophagus and Ross sangue) was the producer of StageFright: Aquarius. Thankfully the apple falls far, far away from the tree on this one. For those of you who haven't pieced this part of the puzzle together, I haven't made it a secret that I highly disapprove of D'Amato's work and think his films are garbage. When I noticed that he was attributed to this film, it filled me with extreme worry. StageFright: Aquarius may fall under the "Category B" Slasher formula: group of individuals are terrorized by an unknown/anonymous killer, one person is left intact, and a quirky ending leaves you raising your eyebrow. The characters, rather than team-up and face the lone-psycho, run away in fear and frantically pound on the tightly shut doors of the complex. When they do finally render the decision to fight back, they do so foolishly. This small detail has plagued the genre since its transference to film; a character's lack of intelligence has to exist in order to stretch out a film's run-time. Perhaps this is why the horror genre remains a target in the eyes of a critic – nuances are common in other genres of film but viewers become especially fed-up and insulted by a character's cowardice and stupidity when avoiding danger. StageFright adheres to this common problem and rather than steer clear of it, embraces it fully. Soavi has stated that the ending of the film was a homage to the typical Slasher finale. In my opinion, his endeavor as a whole is a tribute – because of this, I cannot find it within myself to express a harsh opinion on his efforts.In closing, StageFright is a comprehensive piece that won't go above and beyond your expectations. It's better than most low-budget Slashers but when you look at the competition, it doesn't say much. The acting and soundtrack especially are above average. The gore-factor is well executed too, and for 1987, quite plausible. If you're able to handle a theme that plays out rather commonly, it's worth a look. While I would mark this one as mediocre, upon further consideration, I wouldn't mind adding this one to my collection. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it does have an air of panache that's difficult to ignore.

gavin6942 A group of actors is locked inside a theater after one of their crew members is killed. Unknown to them, the killer is inside the building and the first one to die has the only key outside hidden. This could be their last night alive.Michele Soavi has made one of the greatest horror films of all time with "Dellamorte Dellamore", and this one -- his first feature -- is not far behind. The acting is superb, the directing keen, and while the slasher genre is riddled with plenty of bland entries, particularly by the time this came out, Soavi keeps it fresh and new here. I have the utmost respect for his work, and the slasher genre in general... could this be the ultimate slasher? Italian horror critic Jim Harper calls this film "a well-constructed and visually impressive film that stands out as one of the highlights of Italian horror in the late 1980s." I could not agree more. Horror, and Italian horror specifically, has more misses than hits... and by the end of the 1980s was a dying subgenre. Soavi kept the fire alive, at least for a few more years than it would have survived on its own (Argento, as great as he his, cannot bear the entire burden of Italian cinema alone). The "visually impressive" part is quite true, as Soavi uses colors to his advantage throughout this one... a technique he likely picked up from Argento.Fans will recognize actor John Morghen, whom Harper calls "waspish", the darling of the Italian horror world. Sadly, unlike past performances, Morghen dies off relatively early in the film and is not given the on-screen death he deserves. (Interestingly, I read an interview with Morghen where he has trashed the horror film and its fans... one wonders why he has made so many and why he shows up at conventions throughout America.) I have to give credence to Simon Boswell's rocking 1980s score. Some reviewers look back now, and knock Boswell for his inclusion of heavy metal into this and other films (such as "Phenomena" or the "Demons" films). Let's be clear, this is not Boswell's doing. The directors at the time did this. I don't really know why. But unlike the others, I don't mind it... it really gives a pumping rhythm to what could otherwise be a slower-feeling film.Fans of horror, slashers, Italian films, Soavi, etc. all need to put this on their list. And if it doesn't already exist, there needs to be a demand for a special edition disc. To my knowledge, there really isn't such a thing yet, and that's a shame. Soavi is often forgotten behind his predecessors, but he is much greater than generally perceived.

buddypatrick We have all seen Stagefright before; it's a predictable typical slasher with an unconvincing killer and young pretty people being axed off though this hasn't been done by Michele Soavi. The most noteworthy elements of the film are the camera-work, cinematography, score and it's violent, brutal deaths which are ranked by horror fanatics as some of the most vicious kills in the slasher sub-genre. It isn't a movie to be taken seriously and a massive 1980's cheese-fest which is what makes it so fantastic.First off, what Stagefright fails at is classic slasher rules; drugs, sex and language which is all absent from this movie. However I don't think the Guide to Making a Slasher Handbook was Soavi's inspiration as this is, after all, a directional debut. This isn't another Friday the 13th and it isn't another Sleepaway Camp – this is a Michele Soavi movie loaded with outrageous, loopy visuals, bizarre dialogue, bad acting and savage murders. When Soavi came out to the film industry as "Argento's protégé" he really meet expectations and Stagefright along with later films such as The Church and Cemetery Man go to prove it. Yes it does not have naked bodies, the characters are not drug inducing menaces and there is a lack of foul language but so what – this is far better than a lot of other slashers that came out in the 80's because it is just so fun and we can thank Soavi's style for that.Whilst the movie is completely silly it's still entertaining, especially for the eyes. The visuals are completely wonderful with cinematography exposing colour through the lens in a flamboyant fashion, especially when all the characters in the film are wearing such eccentric clothes. The camera-work is professionally solid and stands out, the panning is soft, the stills are (not always) very still and it's the style of camera-work one would assume would come from Argento's protégé. The score is 1980's cheese but it works a wonder and it fits well in a movie such as Stagefright, it's also a hoot to listen to as you watch a woman being torn in half from the waist down.I will not spoil the deaths in this review. There are some really nasty eye opening kills in this movie which are illogical, nonsensical and completely derivative but that's Italian Horror for you, and as a matter of fact – that's the movies for you. If someone is into violent slashers then this is perhaps the film you've been looking for though the movie isn't overflowing with gore and eye cringing kills which can be a letdown for gore fanatics.Stagefright is typically predictable like one would find in any slasher, but it offers something quite unique – it's artistic cinematic elements are fantastic, the music is a thrill ride to listen to, it's easy to watch, the characters are all wearing eccentric 80's fashion like you'd expect from a metropolis stage performer in that era and its environment is at least not a camp, beach, cemetery, small town, or anything you've seen one hundred times before in a film which requires the protagonist to take of their clothes. Stagefright is another run of the mill slasher, but it is Michele Soavi's run of the mill slasher and that is what makes it unique. It's cheese but it isn't like this movie is taking itself serious, so sit back and enjoy this reminder of what Italian slashers were like in the 1980's.