There is no doubt that Michele Soavi's "Deliria" aka. "Stage Fright" of 1987 is a suspenseful and stylish slasher. As an avid fan of Italian Horror cinema, however, I have to say that the film is, in my opinion, slightly overrated by most of my fellow Italian Horror buffs. The film does very effectively build up tension, however, and while the story is simple it also fast-paced and intense and does not get boring for a second. A group of stage actors, entirely at odds with each other as well as with their arrogant director, are doing rehearsals for a play in a remote theater. They soon have other things to worry about than their little disputes, when the entire theater is suddenly stalked by a murderous madman... I can see why many of my fellow Italian Horror fans love this film. It is a very effective and immensely creepy film, no doubt, but I couldn't say it is an outstanding or brilliant film. Yet it does have many ingenious elements. The killer, who is referred to as the night-owl wears an over-sized owl-mask which looks extremely creepy. Also, the film is often quite artistically done, and the murder sequences are superb. The acting performances are quite good too, Italian Horror buffs will especially appreciate the casting of cult-actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice, who has an atypical role as a very gay dancer. The script was written by another cult-actor, George Eastman ("Cani Arrabiati", "Antropophagus", "Absurd"). All things considered, "Stage Fright" is a creepy and more than worthwhile Horror film, even if it is not the masterpiece some claim it is, in my opinion. Michele Soavi sure is a great director (his Zombie-extravaganza "Dellamorte Dellamore" of 1994 is without doubt one of the greatest Horror films of the 90s), and this is his creepy feature film debut. Enjoy!
Review of StageFright
