Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Shocking thriller from the director of Cemetery Man..., February 24, 2002
This is the debut film of Michele Soavi, director of the classic Cemetery Man. Soavi, who worked as assistant director to Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava among others, has crafted an intense and stylish slasher about an escaped homicidal maniac stalking the cast and crew of a musical that have decided to base their play on him. With brutally gory scares and an overpowering claustrophobic atmosphere, this has some stunning sequences that outshine many of its American counterparts that came out in the 80's (especially in a scene where one of the castmembers must retrieve a key, in order to escape, from underneath the killers feet!). Look for John Morghen (Gates Of Hell, Make Them Die Slowly) in a small role. This release from Anchor Bay is a great transfer (restored from original Rome vault materials) and is totally uncut.
On a side note- Director Terry Gilliam met Soavi at the Brussels Fantasy Film Festival where Stagefright was being shown.He liked this film so much that he made Soavi a 2nd unit director on his next film-The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
HELL of a lot better than HATCHET!, December 27, 2007
FUNNY! I saw the trailer to this film and it really turned
me off. I saw the trailer to another HORROR film and thought
it was going to be the BEST HORROR film I had seen for 2000!
Well the latter sucked and STAGEFRIGHT was better than I expected.
In a nutshell you have a closed stage rehearsal of a play that
is going to be opening up in a few days. A psychotic killer is in
the theatre and is preying upon the actors one by one. This is
the directorial debut of Michele Soavi and though I still feel
CEMETARY MAN is miles above this I really did enjoy this movie
it has VERY impressive visuals like feathers falling down over
the killer while he strokes a cat(VERY ARGENTO)and the kills
are fantastic! DRILL TO THE CHEST-BULLET BETWEEN THE EYES-CHAINSAW
DISMEMBERMENT and much much more kiddies! Oh! the killer wears
a CREEPY owl mask to boot. So get your ticket now for a front
row seat on a very good HORROR thrill!
Oh! you are asking why 3 stars??? MUSIC! The music in this
just blows..Sorry I can't do jazz saxaphone music while a guy
gets his arm and head sliced off? What? What was Soavi thinking?
If GOBLIN did the music 2 more stars from Clint,but Kenny G music
in a HORROR film...C'MON! Still HORROR lovers see this!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scary,suspenseful, and fun!, April 20, 2002
Stage Fright is one of the scariest slasher films ever that almost matches up with Halloween and Psycho. The plot is simple:
Alicia, who is working on a play that is about a psycho killer dressed as an owl, hurts her ankle on set and then her costume lady named Betty sneaks her out of rehearsal and takes her to the nearest hospital. But it isn't just a hospital, it ends up being a mental institution! Still, the doctor there agrees to look at Alicia's ankle. Staying at that hospital is Irving Wallace, a beserk actor who took 16 people and "cut them into little pieces!". He is staying there because the court is reviewing his trial. Betty and Alicia go back to the theater when they're done, but they end up bringing Irving Wallace back with them because they forgot to lock the door to the car!
*Spoiler Warining* Soon after Alicia is fired for sneaking out by the director of the play named Peter, who needed her while she was gone. Betty goes back out to her car because she left her lights on and is then murdered by Irving Wallace (I won't say how, it's pretty creative). After the police come and take away her body, Peter tells Newspaper Journalist Mr. Ferrari that he will take Betty's murder as an advertisement and pull opening night back a week to encourage more people to come.
Peter asks 8 people in the production to stay and rehearse all night. They are actors Brett, Laurel, Cibil, Corrine, Danny, Alicia, assistant director Mark, and journalist Farrari. Peter asks Corrine to lock all the doors to the theater and hide the key so nobody will be able to get out and they will have to rehearse all night. Unfortunatly, Irving Wallace gets locked in along with them, and steals Brett's owl costume and walks around the theater with it. Soon after, Brett dissapears and during rehearsal on stage in front of everyone's eyes, Irving Wallace murders Corrine. Corrine was the only one who knew where the key was, and Irving pulled out the wires to the telephones, so they are trapped in there and they have to find the hiddent key to get out to the 2 policeman outside in a car. Irving Wallace starts murdering them one by one in gruesome fashion.
This movie is stunning. The soundtrack is great, the music loud and suspenseful. The gore level is high and the special effects are great. The cinematography is outstanding, especially during the fish tank scene and a certain scene at the end that will definatly have you on the edge of your seat.
Stage Fright is one of the best slasher films ever. Definatly comes close to Halloween and Psycho. Director Soavi is a great director for this film. This is highly recommended to horror film fans, even recammended to people who don't like horror films.
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