Stage Fright

AKA Aquarius / Deliria / Bloody Bird / Sound Stage Massacre / StageFright

Director: Michele Soavi

I thought it was about time I highlighted a movie from one of my favourite directors, Michele Soavi, starting with his directorial debut: “Stage Fright”. Prior to making this film, Soavi had been kept busy with acting, appearing in genre classics such as: Joe D’Amato’s “Absurd”, Lucio Fulci’s “City Of The Living Dead” and Lamberto Bava’s “Demons”, “Blastfighter” and “A Blade In The Dark” to name just a few. He also was probably the best thing in “Alien 2: On Earth” but that’s not saying much. During this period he also worked as second unit director for Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento. With that resume alone, it’s safe to say Soavi is somewhat of a hero of mine, let alone the fact he would go on to direct four brilliant horror films of his own.

As I have said numerous times, I am no film historian, but my understanding is that Soavi along with his friend Giovanni Lombardo Radice (another hero of mine) were writing a few bits and pieces, submitting them to Joe D’Amato to see if he wanted to produce them. The one D’Amato eventually agreed to was “Stage Fright”, written without Radice’s involvement although he would pen some of his character’s dialogue in the movie. George Eastman would also be credited with being involved in the writing of the script and, according to IMDB, plays the film’s intimidating villain Irving Wallace, although only appears in the scenes where the killer is wearing the iconic owl mask.

The plot revolves around the rehearsal of a new stage show: “The Night Owl” – described by one character as “an intellectual musical”, directed by Peter (played by David Brandon). The musical tells the story of a serial killer in a rather elaborate owl mask who is then raped by one his victims. At least I think that’s the gist as they don’t really explain a great deal but from what we see it’s basically a lot of people jumping about on stage to some fast paced, slightly sleazy jazz music. It’s one of those productions that makes you wonder who on earth would actually want to sit through it, like the ones in Stallone’s much maligned 80s cheese fest: “Staying Alive” (although I would pay good money to see “Satan’s Alley” done for real). Anyway, during rehearsals, Alicia (played by Barbara Cupisti) sprains her ankle and due to the unbelievably strict dictatorship Peter is running, has to sneak out with her friend Betty to get treatment.

The nearest hospital to the theatre is a psychiatric hospital but that doesn’t stop the pair going in to get treatment from a rather tactile doctor who runs his hand up Alicia’s leg and up to her arse as he treats her ankle. Bizarrely Alicia doesn’t batter an eyelid! In fact, I’m not sure if the hospital might actually be staffed by the patients, seeing as we also see one of the nurses feeding her fish who seems to have some sort of sexual attraction to her pet. One of the patients at the hospital is Irving Wallace, a former actor turned murderer who just so happens to escape from his cell at the point Alicia and Betty are about to leave. The killer hides in their car with the pair unknowingly taking him to the confines of the theatre.

Spoilers – Betty is the first of the group to die and it is this murder that sets up the rest of the film. The police are called and after the commotion has died down, two hapless policemen (one played by Soavi himself) are stationed outside the theatre whilst Peter, seeing the murder as an opportunity to cash in and reap the rewards of the publicity, decides to change the “plot” of the play. Not only that, he locks the key members of cast and crew in the theatre and forces them to work through the night to rehearse the new storyline, much to their displeasure. With the killer at large and now roaming the inside of the theatre with the owl mask on, it’s only a matter of time before more people start dying. Conveniently the policeman are unaware of the commotion inside the theatre as they can’t hear the screams over the sound of the rain and thunder outside.

“Stage Fright” has a plot that could so easily have been a routine slasher outing but Soavi’s visual flare makes it a cut above and the “locked in the theatre” scenario is inventive and claustrophobic. The film barely breaks out of the theatre for the main bulk of its runtime, amping up the tension with every death that occurs. The characters and the sets look increasingly sweaty and dirty as the film progresses and along with the distinctively 80s music, makes for a perfectly sleazy backdrop as the carnage ensues. The film takes a while to build up to the violence but once it arrives it is very brutal, albeit in short bursts and there are some inventive and “fun” (for want of a better word) kills. A refreshing change from the routine slash and stab violence more commonly associated with slashers.

I was expecting a giallo style revelation at the end with regards to the killer. He is exactly who the film signposts early on and there is no twist which is appreciated to be honest. If it turned out to be one of the cast killing instead of Wallace then it just wouldn’t have rang true. As I say, it’s owes more to the slasher genre than to the giallo movies that dominated Italian cinema in the 70s and there’s nothing wrong with that. It does have a brilliant last scene which is hugely satisfying.

For the most part the acting is spot on, however, I find that David Brandon seems to deliver his lines in an almost theatrical fashion, probably largely due to his stage background. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing but sometimes to my eyes it borderlines on over acting. Bizarrely David Brandon is listed as being the second unit director on Disney’s live action film, “102 Dalmatians”. Whether or not that’s true or a mis-credit on IMDB I’m not sure?!

Someone who also has a wealth of theatre experience is Giovanni Lombardo Radice, but at no point to do I feel that his acting is theatrical or over the top. It’s nice to see a role which plays to his comic strengths but that’s not to say he is a comic relief character, because that’s not the case. The character of Brett always has a snarky comment to make and you get a sense he is somewhat of a prankster. For my money though, he gets killed off too early in the film but the timing of his death does make sense to the plot, seeing as Brett was the actor actually playing the role of “The Night Owl” in the show. You need him out the way so Irving Wallace can take his place in the costume to begin his rampage. Not that the switch behind the mask is kept as a mystery for very long.

Barbara Cupisti is fantastic as Alicia and she really holds the film together in the later stages of the film. George Eastman is incredibly threatening as the killer; his height and build make him a great villain as already proven by his role in “Anthropophagous”. Here he has the obstacle of wearing a large owl mask which must have surely obstructed his vision and yet still manages to move gracefully. The scene where he arranges his murder victims on stage is incredibly creepy (although one of the “dead” characters is seen blinking – doh!) and the tension as Alicia is creeping around trying to get the key without being heard is so suspenseful I though I was going to end up with a nervous twitch.

The score, provided by Bafta nominated composer Simon Boswell, is interesting and we get a nice contrast of styles between the diegetic music in the show they are rehearsing and the non diegetic score for the movie. The music in the show seems to be a mixture of classical (probably not original to film but I’m no expert on orchestral music), 80s pop style instrumentals and some frantic jazz type affairs while the score has a very creepy electronic feel which fits perfectly and is instantly recognisable. At times the music for the show is turned on by the killer, which is an interesting choice and gives some nice parallels between the content of the show the music was meant for, the “real life” events happening to the characters, whilst being an incredibly effective soundtrack for us, the viewers of the film. Boswell has had an interesting career and a name that will no doubt appear on this blog again as he also scored films such as: “Demons 2”, “Graveyard Disturbance” and “Delirium” for Lamberto Bava, “Phenomena” for Dario Argento, as well as Danny Boyle’s “Shallow Grave” and Clive Barker’s “Lord Of Illusions”. Not a bad collection of films I’m sure you’ll agree.

When I interviewed Radice he mentioned D’Amato stepped in to finish some of the filming. I believe this was after the production was temporarily shut down due to lack of funds and therefore things needed to be completed quickly. Joe D’Amato is a great director and I don’t think at any point it compromised Soavi’s vision. Certainly if Giovanni hadn’t said that I wouldn’t have known as the whole film feels of a piece and the joins in footage are seamless.

What the cast and crew achieved on the small budget is brilliant and at no points does the film look or feel cheap. There are some stunning visuals, something that Soavi would continue to produce in his later films. This flair was something noticed by acclaimed director Terry Gilliam, who asked Soavi to be second unit director on “The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen” and later “The Brothers Grimm” after seeing “Stage Fright”. No mean feat I’m sure you’ll agree.

I am surprised “Stage Fright” isn’t one of the Italian horror movies that has crept its way into the general UK and American consciousness more. Sure, if you are a fan of Italian horror then you will have heard of it without a doubt but the average horror fan won’t have and yet they would probably be familiar with the likes of “Zombie Flesh Eaters” and “Demons”. If you are a horror fan but haven’t dabbled with Italian horror then I feel “Stage Fright” is a nice place to start. It somehow breathes fresh life into the tired slasher genre, something Ruggero Deodato had the opportunity of doing a year earlier with “Body Count” but failed. Soavi’s passion for horror is very clear and there are plenty of moments that you could easily see as homages to other horror films, intentional or not. There is so much to enjoy here and I could bang on for days about what a great little movie it is. There’s even a cute cat, what more could you possibly ask for?! Highly recommended.