Bloody Bird

Stageright is possibly one of the greatest slasher/horror films virtually no one has ever seen, which is why I so strongly reccomend you do some searching for a copy. Stagefright tells a simplistic tale (one which verges on cliche, but fortunately manages to avoid the pratfalls of the formulaic slasher film) of a group of thespians whom are currently working on a theatrical production, a musical about a serial murderer. As this occurs, so does the escape of a crazed actor/murderer from the local insane asylum whom happened to brutally kill his co-star several years back in the same theater. He returns to wreak his vengeance upon the cavernous rehearsal hall's new inhabitants, donning an owl mask and weilding a variety of lethal impliments of destruction.

As you can see, there really isn't much to Stagefright in terms of plot, but this aspect does not work against Stagefright, it proves to be an asset. Due to the lack of contrived subplots and red herrings, director Michele Soavi (this film was his debut, proving just how strong of a director he is) can concentrate on the magnificent atmosphere and carnage that ensues. Speaking of carnage, Stagefright not only offers some marvelous suspense/tension , but some great gore. The score only helps to accenutate the mood of the movie and while the characters may be two-dimensional, the aformentioned aspects of Stagefright surpass them. Stagefright is recommended definitively.

Grade: A

Four films might be too little to judge, but I think Michele Soavi is the best Italian horror director since Mario Bava. Regarding several aspects, his visions and attitude surpass those of praised directors like Lamberto Bava, Umberto Lenzi and even Dario Argento. Stagefright has got a simple plot (much simpler that those in Soavi's later movies) but that makes it all the more accessible and enjoyable. The plot involves an escaped lunatic who stumbles into a theater where a group is rehearsing an artistic play. The mentally weak man, unable to separate reality from his own demented imagination, considers himself to be at home and violently begins to annihilate cast and crew. Even though the premise is perfect for sinking low in gore slashing, Soavi prefers to focus on creating tense situations and making you feel one with the characters and – as a result of this – petrified as well. The stylishly filmed sets and efficient scenery makes it feel like you're watching a more sophisticated version of Bava's "Demons". This is exactly what makes him such a brilliant director! Give him little and he still manages to deliver a fully equipped horror film. Call me nuts, but I think there are directors who actually have the talent to make violence look like art…and Soavi definitely is one of them. Stagefright has a terrific musical score and a few familiar faces in the cast. Most memorable appearance unquestionably is made by Giovanni Lombardo Radice. This Italian cult actor appears in multiple gore highlights and practically always comes to a horrible end… Stagefright comes with the highest possible recommendation. In case you dug this film, you're ready for Soavi's "the Sect" and "Dellamorte Dellamore".

STAGEFRIGHT opens with a jaw-dropping, murderous dance routine, featuring some awesome saxophone playing and a "killer" in an owl mask! After this, one might think that anything to follow would be anticlimactic. Ha! This would be a mistake! What transpires after this sequence is even more astonishing!

A troupe of thespians is working on the aforementioned musical, complete with a rape scene (!). In a miraculous turn of serendipitous events, the play's hyper-intense director (David Brandon) decides to keep everyone in the theater overnight. A dark, stormy night! In addition, an escaped, homicidal maniac is on his way to the theater! He's an actor-gone-berserk, don't ya know?! He also loves owl masks!

Let the bodies hit the floor!

Kooky, bloody, and absolutely enjoyable, this movie should be seen by all sentient beings! Especially, those with a hankering for Italian horror cheeeze. Or owls. Stars Barbara Cupisti (OPERA, THE CHURCH) as Alicia, the only character with a functioning brain...

The flick deals with a theatre of death in which a maniacal serial killer attempts to cover his trail by joining the cast (David Brandon , Barbara Cupisti , Mary Sellers , among others) of a play about mass murder . There happens several bloody murders and gruesome executions . A troupe of struggling cast members is rehearsing for a small-town production of a play. Everything seems to be as it should until one of the stage actors appears dead. In a panic, the others attempt to get out, only to find they are now locked in the theater with the murderous. As the other players soon have more to worry about than remembering their lines .

Michele Soavi's first great success is compellingly directed with startling visual content . This frightening movie is plenty of thrills, chills, high body-count and glimmer color in lurid pastel with phenomenal results . This is a classic slasher where the intrigue, tension, suspense appear threatening and lurking in every room, corridors and stage interior and exterior . Interesting screenplay was written by 'Lew Cooper', one of numerous pseudonyms that writer/actor George Eastman uses , in actuality Eastman's real name is Luigi Montefiore . The thrilling of the story is to find out which one of them committed the murder, and who will get out alive.

The movie belongs to Italian Giallo genre , Mario Bava (¨Planet of vampires¨, ¨House of exorcism¨) along with Riccardo Freda (¨Secret of Dr. Hitchcock¨ , ¨Il Vampiri¨) are the fundamental creators . These Giallo movies are characterized by usual zooms and utilization of images-shock with magenta shades of ochre and overblown use of color in shining red blood , translucently pale turquoises and deep orange-red . Later on , there appears Dario Argento (¨Deep red¨, ¨Suspiria¨,¨Inferno¨), another essential filmmaker of classic Latino terror films and finally Michele Soavi . Soavi was given a chance as an assistant director by director Aristide Massaccesi (aka: Joe D'Amato). In their first film, Soavi acted in an uncredited part, and was the assistant director. Over four more films with Massaccesi, Soavi served as a bit part actor, screenwriter and personal assistant . As Soavi, wanting to get on his own, turned to his previous mentor Aristide Massaccesi to show off his work where the filmmaker offered Soavi a chance to direct his first movie, and finally made this ¨Aquarius¨ or ¨Stagefright¨(1987) , produced by the prolific Joe D'Amato , a typical low-grade terror , even his his second big film project called La Chiesa (1988) had a budget three to four times the budget of ¨Stagefright¨ , with Argento as the producer . Although ¨Aquarius¨ was a box-office flop in Italy, it was a success abroad . Despite the low budget , equivalent to under $1 million U.S. dollars, and low-production values, the picture turns out to be a passable slasher , including some exciting surprises . This genuinely mysterious story is well photographed by Tafuri, though being necessary a right remastering . Furthermore , includes a poor editing involving the soundtrack by means of synthesizer , however resulting to be sometimes atmospheric and frightening musical score composed by Simon Boswell, among others .

The motion picture was well directed by Michael Soavi , remembered to this day as one of the many masters of Italian Horror cinema as a director, screenwriter, actor, and assistant director. Soavi first met writer/director Dario Argento in 1979 where the director took Soavi under his wing after learning of their same tastes with film making. Argento made Soavi the second assistant director for the movie Tenebre (1982) with Lamberto Bava as the first assistant director. Pleased with his work, Bava hired Soavi as his assistant director for the mystery-thriller A Blade in the Dark (1983) with Soavi in a supporting role. Afterwards, Argento brought back Soavi to work as his assistant director in Phenomena (1985) with Soavi acting in a small role. Argento rewarded Soavi by giving him his first assignment as director of a music video "The Valley" featuring music by Bill Wyman for the movie Phenomena, plus as director for a documentary on Argento's films. Soavi worked again for Lamberto Bava as assistant director in Demoni (1985) in which Soavi also appeared. Soavi began to look elsewhere for work where he was hired as an assistant director and cameraman for British actor/director Terry Gilliam with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). With new skills, Soavi returned to Argento as a supervisor for special effects in Ópera (1987) where Argento offered him to direct another film, a horror flick titled La Chiesa (1988) and filmed on location in Budapest . The international success of The Church inspired Soavi to direct another film, The Sect (1990). Soavi worked on a number of screenplays, and directed the horror-comedy Cemetery Man (1994) which was a huge hit in the USA. Afterwards, Soavi took a break from working to spend time with his wife and family. Recently, he returned to filmmaking with two made-for-Italian-TV dramas . Aquarius rating : Good, this is an imaginative and acceptable picture in which the camera stalks in sinister style throughout a story with magnificent visual skills.

DELIRIA

(USA/UK: StageFright: Aquarius)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Stereo

A group of actors become trapped in a theatre with a rampaging maniac who has just escaped from the nearby psychiatric clinic...

DELIRIA not only marked the directorial debut of Euro-cult favorite Michele Soavi (billed here as 'Michael' Soavi), it also marked a reunion of several prominent figures from the heyday of Italian exploitation. Produced by renowned sleaze merchant Joe D'Amato (Aristide Massaccesi - "Buio Omega", "Emanuelle in America") and written by splatter stalwart George Eastman (Luigi Montefiore - RABID DOGS, ABSURD), and co-starring John Morghen (Giovanni Lombardo Radice - CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD), this deceptively modest shocker attempts to subvert many of the clichés associated with 'traditional' slasher movies, and does it with style and grace. Viewers weaned on a diet of bland Hollywood 'horrors' may not succumb immediately to the film's wayward plot developments (including the central device of an off-off-Broadway stage musical which celebrates the very same serial killer who winds up massacring most of the cast!), but once the basic premise has been established, the narrative assumes a near-demonic life of its own.

Beginning with a frankly horrific sequence in which the masked killer is mistaken for an actor during rehearsals and encouraged to 'kill' a female co-star (only to commit the bloody deed for real!), Soavi's direction is razor-sharp and visually appealing. The murders are outlandish and gruesome, though also tragic in places (watch out for a shower sequence which operates both as a suspense set-piece and as a vivid demonstration of human cruelty), and Eastman's clever screenplay strips the characters down to their emotional core, revealing a gamut of fears and prejudices which leave many of them vulnerable to the killer's predations. The climactic sequence - in which a frightened young actress must retrieve an all-important key from its hiding place within inches of the killer's feet - is ghastly, beautiful and terrifying, all at the same time. Outside of these major set-pieces, Soavi's relative inexperience is betrayed by a couple of ragged camera movements and some odd editing choices, while the performances are compromised by flat post-sync dubbing. But overall, the movie is a triumph, one which plays Soavi's mentor Dario Argento at his own game and succeeds beyond all expectations.

(English version)