Stage
Fright (1987/Blue Underground Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B+ Extras: B+ Film: B
Stage
Fright is a solid Italian horror film released in 1987 from the
acclaimed director Michele Soavi (Cemetary Man, The Church who
also happened to be a protégé of Dario Argento) and inhabits all of
the great things that the Italian Horror Genre has to offer in top
notch cinematography, next level gore, and moments that capture a
true feeling of terror and suspense. Blue Underground has really
pulled all the stops with this fantastic release giving us the film
in stunning 1080p high definition and a brilliant DTS mixed
soundtrack. Stage Fright stars EuroCult favorites David
Brandon (Delirium,
Beyond Darkness), Barbara
Cupisti (Opera, The
Church), and Giovanni Lombardo Radice (City Of The Living
Dead, Cannibal Ferox,
The Church). This is also not to be confused with the 2014
remake or the Hitchcock film also named Stage Fright.
The
film takes place in a theater late at night as a troupe of actors are
rehearsing a musical about a mass murderer known as the Night Owl.
The show's leading lady, Alicia (Barbara Cupisti), sprains her ankle
and she and the wardrobe mistress, Betty (Ulrike Schwerk), sneak out
of the rehearsal to go to a doctor. But the closest medical facility
is a mental hospital. The psychiatrist on duty is only happy to
help, but the wardrobe mistress notices a restrained patient on a bed
lying in a room behind bars. The doctor tells them that it is Irving
Wallace, a former actor who went berserk and killed over a dozen
people. Unbeknownst to any of them, Wallace has killed one of the
attendants with a syringe and sneaked out of the asylum, hiding in
the back of Betty's car.
Once
they arrive back at the theater the over-bearing director (David
Brandon) fires Alicia for leaving during rehearsal. She packs her
things and gets ready to leave. Betty gets back and forgot something
in the car, she looks around and find something strange, she feels
scared and gets out of the car. she was later on killed with a pick
axe shoved in her mouth. Alice searches for Betty, but makes a
terrifying discovery in the parking lot - Betty's murdered corpse.
After
the police have taken the body away and stationed two patrol officers
in the parking lot to keep an eye on the premises, the director has
one of his actresses, Corinne, hide the theater's key so no one can
leave, as he has decided to alter the play's script. Instead of
being an anonymous killer, he renames the show's antagonist Irving
Wallace, and he wants everyone to stay the night and begin immediate
rehearsals with the new material. But things become even more
nightmarish when the real Wallace disembowels the actress who hid the
key, and the remaining members of the cast and crew realize that
there is no way to escape the psychopath's evil clutches.
This
is a great slasher film that isn't quite as artsy as Dario Argento's
masterpiece Opera, but bares a vague influence. Some of the
exterior rain scenes and solid color lighting schemes also remind me
of Argento's Suspiria and even maybe a little bit of John
Carpenter's Halloween to throw in for good measure. What is
great about the inspiration though is that it is just that - not a
rip-off by any means. If you are a fan of slashers, I would
definitely say that the Owl Man is a pretty solid murderer. He has
no problem using a small hand held chain saw, an axe, a big knife, or
even his bare hands to get his point across. (He definitely needs
his own action figure.)
As
mentioned above both the transfer and sound mix on this release are
fantastic. Presented in 1080p high definition with a Widescreen
aspect ratio of 1.85:1 brings us the best visual presentation of the
film available. The sound mix is a beautiful lossless DTS-HD (MA)
Master Audio track mixed in 5.1 surround sound. There is also an
English 2.0 DTS-HD version on the disc as well. Subtitles on the
disc are in English, French, and Spanish.
The
extras are plentiful and include
• Theatre
Of Delirium - Interview with Director Michele Soavi
• Head
Of The Company - Interview with Star David Brandon
• Blood
On The Stage Floor - Interview with Star Giovanni Lombardo Radice
• The
Sound Of Aquarius - Interview with Composer Simon Boswell
• The
Owl Murders - Interview with Make-Up Effects Artist Pietro Tenoglio
• Theatrical
Trailer
• Poster
& Still Gallery
This
is great work by Blue Underground - now why won't SOMEONE do a
special edition release of Suspiria on Blu-ray in the U.S.?
-
James Harland Lockhart V
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv