Stage Fright (1987)

Above average slasher flick (but still a slasher flick), from Argento protégé’ Michele Soavi. In a playhouse theatre, a group of struggling actors are rehearsing a new play about a serial killer. Unknown to them however, a real killer is on the prowl having recently escaped from a nearby looney bin. After rehearsals the cast and crew are shocked to find a production assistant slain by the escaped killer, with his body lying in the theatre’s parking lot. Thinking he can cash in on all the publicity surrounding the death, the snobbish director of the play decides to base the play around the now on the loose killer and locks his cast in the theatre for some extra practice. They’re not the only ones in the building however, as we soon discover that the killer to is locked in with the actors. To make it even more interesting, Mr. Psycho has just killed the only person who knew where the key to unlock the only exit was hidden! Ouch.

While it is your basic slasher premise we’ve seen a million times before, there are many things that set this one apart from other like-minded films of this era. First off, the camera work and lighting is top notch. Soavi, having picked up a few things from Argento, fills the screen with all sorts of dizzying POV and tracking shots. Soavi’s camera swoops and prowls all over the theatre, which, once everyone is locked inside, takes on an extremely evil persona unto it’s own. As is the case with most Italian horror films, the violence is almost always exceedingly gleeful. And in this flick, having a really pissed off psycho is a blessing. The entire cast is nothing but a bunch of snobs who whine and cry constantly, including even the supposed heroine. You’ll see a power drill through torso, chainsaw hackings, knife stabbings and the like. All extremely violent and crimson soaked of course in a way only the Italians can give you. The killer himself is very effective at being menacing, something at the beginning I was having my doubts with. The film opens up with an actor (the always abused John Morghen) playing a killer in the musical during a rehearsal. As he makes his appearance on stage, he starts prancing about in the way dancers do, all the while wearing a big bird mask! Now, I knew the killer eventually wears the bird mask, but hell, I was laughing my ass off in this opening scene and thinking to myself, “every time I see the killer with that damn bird mask on, I’m gonna start laughing”. Not so folks. The mask, once on the killer, gives off a really weird and threatening vibe, especially since this dude is so damn vicious. Very effectively done, and something if attempted in any other flick would have resulted in laughter from the audience every time the killer shows up. Perhaps Soavi used the mask as inspiration, sort of a “he’s sort of silly looking with that mask on, so let’s make him a real mean bastard.” He succeeded.

Besides all the gory murders, two scenes really make the film so be certain to keep your eye out for them. Near the end of the film there is a simply gorgeous set piece of the killer decorating the stage with all of the assorted body parts from his victims. A cat accidentally turns on a stage fan that commences to blow a bunch of feathers all around the macabre stage, creating a very grisly yet beautiful scene that, dare I say, is very poetic. The other scene to watch out for features the heroine crawling under the stage, with the killer on top, trying to grab the key to freedom which is stuck in the stage floor. Very nerve wracking and tension filled stuff. Besides all these high points, “Stage Fright” does have it's faults. The cast is extremely unlikable, some things are just plain dumb and lack logic (in an Italian horror film, who would have expected that?). However, the good stuff far surpasses the bad, and all in all, a very fine debut from Mr. Soavi. One of the best slasher flicks around, and definitely worth picking up.