Stage Fright [Special Edition]

Director: Michele Soavi

Overview

Horror film actor Michele Soavi's directorial debut was this stylish giallo thriller about an escaped lunatic terrorizing the cast of a stage musical who get locked in a theater after dark. David Brandon, Barbara Cupisti, and perennial victim Giovanni Lombardo Radice (aka "John Morghen") lead the cast, most of whom spend their time sniping at each other with amusingly typical backstage cruelty. The murder scenes are the film's primary attraction, artfully handled by Soavi in setpieces such as a blue-lighted stage strewn with feather-covered bodies. The killer wears an owl mask, which is offputting at first but seems progressively more sinister as the film goes along. Soavi's stylistic mentor, Dario Argento, directed the similar Opera the same year, while this one was produced by Aristide Massaccesi ("Joe D'Amato") from a script by actor Luigi Montefiori ("George Eastman").

Product Details

Release Date:	09/23/2014
UPC:	0827058115896
Original Release:	1987
Rating:	NR
Source:	Blue Underground
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	30,501

Special Features

Theatre of delirium - interview with director Michele Soavi; Head of the company - interview with star David Brandon; Blood on the stage floor - interview with star Giovanni Lombardo Radice; The owl murders - interview with make-up effects artist Pieter Tenoglio; The sound of aquarius - interview with composer Simon Boswell; Theatrical trailer; Poster & still gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Barbara Cupisti	Alicia
Don Fiore	Actor
Robert Gligorov	Danny
David Brandon	Actor
Ulrike Schwerk	Actor
Martin Philips	Actor
Mary Sellers	Actor
Giovanni Radice	Actor
Loredana Parrella	Actor
Piero Viba	Actor
Greg McClure	Broderick Kands
Derek Neal	Dereck Soriven
Mickey Knox	Actor
John Morghen	Actor
Simon Boswell	Composer

Technical Credits

George Eastman

Michele Soavi	Director
Joe D'Amato	Producer
Donatella Donati	Producer
George Eastman	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

This late European entry into the slasher-film cycle is a good example of how style can triumph over substance in a genre effort. The script doesn't offer much in the way of characterization -- the victims fall into distinct types and the killer is the usual slasher-film cipher -- but Stage Fright does offer a unique theatrical setting and small-time showbiz milieu that gives the tale some added flavor. The actors are do above-average work for this kind of film, with top honors going to David Brandon as the troupe's Machiavellian director and John Morghen as an amusingly bitchy actor. However, the best element of Stage Fright is Michele Soavi's direction. This protégé of Dario Argento made his directorial debut here and his work shows a tremendous sense of craft for a first-timer: his pacing is nice and lean, with a good knack for timing when it comes to the shocks. Even better, he has an eye for artful design amongst the carnage and combines this visual sense with his craftsmanship to create some tense setpieces: the best is a moment involving an attempt to retrieve a key right under the killer's nose. Ultimately, Stage Fright is primarily for the horror audience but they are likely to enjoy its visually inventive approach to the usually humdrum slasher subgenre.