Stage Fright (1987 film)

Stage Fright
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michele Soavi
Written by	Lew Cooper Sheila Goldberg
Produced by	Aristide Massacessi Donatella Donati
Starring	David Brandon Barbara Cupisti Mary Sellers Giovanni Lombardo Radice Jo Ann Smith Robert Gligorov Piero Vida
Cinematography	Renato Tafuri
Edited by	Kathleen Stratton
Music by	Simon Boswell Guido Anelli Stefano Mainetti
Production companies	DMV Distribuzione Filmirage
Distributed by	Artists Entertainment Group
Release date	1987 (1987)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	Italy

Stage Fright (Italian: Deliria) is a 1987 Italian slasher film directed by Michael Soavi, and starring Barbara Cupisti, David Brandon, and Giovanni Lombardo Radice. The plot involves a group of stage actors and crew who lock themselves inside a theater for rehearsal of a musical production, unaware that an escaped mental patient is locked inside with them.

The film was an inspiration for the Kannada-language film Idu Saadhya (1989).^[1]

Late at night, a theatre troupe are rehearsing a musical about a fictional mass murderer known as the Night Owl. Peter, the domineering director, refuses to let anyone leave without his permission. When an actress named Alicia sprains her ankle, she and her castmate Betty sneak out for medical help, the nearest facility being a mental hospital. While there, Betty notices an inmate: Irving Wallace, a former actor who went insane and went on a killing spree. Unknown to them, Wallace murders an attendant with a syringe and escapes, hiding in Betty’s car.

When they return, Peter fires Alicia for leaving rehearsal. Outside, Betty goes back to the car and is killed by Wallace, who drives a pickaxe to the mouth. Moments later, Alicia finds the body and alerts the police. Officers arrive, remove the body, and station two men outside. Peter seizes on the tragedy, rewriting the play to name its villain after Wallace, and insists that everyone including a rehired Alicia stay the night to rehearse the new version. Tempted by extra pay, the troupe reluctantly agree, while Corinne secretly hides the theatre’s exit key.

As the night unfolds, Wallace dons the owl costume meant for the play and begins stalking the cast. Laurel mistakes his presence for Brett, who lingers behind searching for his costume. Wallace, still in disguise, strangles and stabs Corinne during rehearsal, shocking the others. Panic sets in when they discover the phones have been cut and the key is missing. Ferrari is the next to die, stabbed and later found hanging by the group.

Peter and Danny go searching while the others barricade themselves inside a dressing room. Wallace drills through the door and kills Mark. When Peter and Danny return and witness the murder, they decide to stay together. Onstage, Peter spots the killer on the catwalks and leads the group in trying to corner him. In the chaos, Peter mistakenly axes Brett, who is bound and dressed in the owl costume, believing him to be Wallace. Soon after, Sybil is seized and gruesomely torn in half, followed by Danny being cut down with a chainsaw. Wallace corners Peter and Laurel, injuring Laurel and severing Peter’s arm before decapitating him with an axe.

Alicia regains consciousness to find a wounded Laurel hiding in the showers, but Wallace soon finishes her off. Alone, Alicia searches for the missing key, discovering Wallace has arranged the troupe’s bodies around the stage, feathered like part of the set. She retrieves the key and fends him off with a fire extinguisher before escaping to the catwalks. After a final struggle involving fire, she manages to flee the theatre and report to the police.

The next morning, Alicia returns to collect her missing watch and is let inside by Willy, the building’s security guard. Noticing the gun she had previously found, Willy remarks that it was loaded but the safety was on, adding that in her place he would have shot Wallace right between the eyes. He also mentions that the newspapers counted eight victims, when there should have been nine including Wallace. At that moment, a scarred and unmasked Wallace lunges at Alicia, only to be shot in the head by Willy, who keeps repeating, almost in shock, that he hit him right between the eyes. A shaken Alicia leaves the theatre clutching her broken watch, while Wallace looks at the camera and smirks, implying he has survived.

The film marks the directorial debut of Dario Argento protégé Michele Soavi and was produced by Joe D'Amato.^[2]

Soavi stated that on Stage Fright he "didn't feel ready to direct, but of course I said yes when I was offered a chance."^[3] Soavi also blamed the film’s poor success due to post-production issues. “I was rather unsatisfied with the Italian version, in which less care was taken over the editing, the dialogue and the [dubbing]”. Soavi also noted that the music was changed for the Italian release and that overall domestic distribution of the film was poor.

Stage Fright was released in 1987. Outside of Italy, the film went under many names, including Bloody Bird, Aquarius, and Sound Stage Massacre.

Before its release in Australia as StageFright, several violent scenes were cut to not be banned. As well, the 1986 UK Avatar release via VHS was altered, with 11 seconds cut before BBFC submission. Releases via the Redemption and Vipco labels were left uncut. ^[4]

AllMovie awarded the film three out of five stars, writing: "Stage Fright is primarily for the horror audience but they are likely to enjoy its visually inventive approach to the usually humdrum slasher subgenre", calling the film "a good example of how style can triumph over substance in a genre effort" and praising Soavi's direction.^[5]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. No critical consensus is provided.

• Stage Fright at IMDb
• Stage Fright at AllMovie
• Stage Fright at the TCM Movie Database
• Stage Fright at Rotten Tomatoes