Blue
Underground
R0
NTSC DVD
Stage
Fright also known as Aquarius and in Europe as Deliria is a rare Eighties slasher from Michele Soavi.
The
film opens with a stylized rape attack sequence, we see a feather drop and a
killer with a owl mask, the scene seems somehow artificial- and it is, soon we
realize it is a musical and the troupe is working on getting it right before
opening night. The troupe is made up of struggling actors whose recompense is a
percentage of the take and the director is using every possible hook to make
the musical work, including a strange turn whereby the killer actually gets
raped and killed by his victim! He is packing in as much “eroticism” as he can
and is not above manipulating and degrading his troupe.
As
the last changes are being made to the musical, the lead actress Alicia sprains
her ankle, she sneaks out to the hospital next door for treatment, never mind
it is a psychiatric institution. In any event her ankle is treated but not
before mass murderer Irving Wallace has escaped hiding in the back of her car.
When they arrive he brutally slaughters her friend, leaving her body in the
rain. The police arrive but can find no trace of the killer, convinced he has
escaped, they leave to return in the morning but leave a car parked outside
just in case. The director, Peter, desperate to make a buck from the musical in
any way he can, demands the team continue working and remodels the story on
Wallace. He asks one of the actresses to hide the key to the theatre so nobody
leaves during the late night rehearsals.
Now
things get nasty, Wallace is hiding in the theatre and begins to kill them off
one by one dressed in the owl mask which features in the musical. He kills the
actress who knows where the key is and the police outside cannot hear them,
this is a cat (or owl) and mouse game to the death.
Wallace
now kills with abandon and there is certainly lots of blood, gore and killings,
axes, knives, drills, chainsaws – all get put to good use. There is also the
requisite false ending and the final climax.
Stage
Fright certainly offers a lot of suspense, looks great and has quite a powerful
Eighties soundtrack ranging from electronic music to classic and rock. Yes, it
is a typical Eighties Slasher but it does have a little more style than a lot
of copycat slashers that were made during the period. Soavi learn his craft
from Dario Argento and Mario Bava`s son, Lamberto Bava and hence is able to imbue
Stage Fright with a mood and look which elevates it about the average.