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Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop  STAGE FRIGHT – I'm all for horror musicals. Look at something like 'Repo: A Genetic Opera'. That was pretty audacious. Admittedly, they're not all as bizarre as that one. 'Stage Fright', which is not only a horror musical but a meta-horror musical, is set in a summer camp where a bunch of post-'Glee' kids get to sing, dance and put on a show. In the mix is the Cinderella-esque daughter of a former star who wants to rise above her status as camp caterer and try for an audition. But there's a masked killer doing the rounds who etc etc etc. 'Stage Fright' gets some things right, but fails to hit some important high notes. The songs, the banter, the witty give and take are all pitch perfect and really breathe life into a concept that might've easily out-cuted itself given a couple of slips-ups in the cleverness stakes. There are a few OK kills and a nice intro with a Giallo-esque Phantom Of The Opera conceit to set things up. The problem, which is maybe not really all that much of a problem for some, is that basically all the campery outdoes the horror aspects by miles. So much so that the murder stuff, which kind of devolves into a slightly wet whodunnit by the end, almost feels tacked on and lame. Speaking of lame, the bits with the masked killer doing a kind of heavy metal “ha ha ha revelling in my own righteous vengeance” thing in a darkened room with a chainsaw just looked so out of touch. As did the killer generally, up to and including the super-weak mask-off. But... for all that, 'Stage Fright' is amusing, likeable, eccentric and cool. Whilst it misses an opportunity to be a bit more out there, it has panache and dares to be a little different. I say - give it a go. |
When i saw a
Stage Fright review i immediately presumed it was going to be the Soavi film from 1987.
Pleasingly it wasn't as no doubt our views would have been very contrasting. I'm not sure how many times i've now watched
StageFright over the years, from the vhs release to the US Anchor Bay dvd which i've had for years to this new release from Exposure Cinema.
I have to be honest this film becomes less of a classic and more of a dull plodder the more i see it. The dialogue is horrible, trite and clumsy and the acting especially seeing as it's set in a theatre with a group of actors is often embarrassing with poor motivations. The kills whilst once fun seem quite substandard now we can see so many Gialli and slasher movies hack away to their hearts content. Oh yeah and it has that horrible prog / metal score which sounds so dated as it riffs around as the various characters are stalked by the killer.
In short
StageFright just isn't as good as it's reputation suggests.