Popular reviews

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  Review by Ian West ★★★★½ 10

  I’ll keep this simple... an escaped maniac finds his way into a theater production, grabs an axe/knife/chainsaw, dons an OWL head mask, and goes to town on the trapped actors. Yeah… I love this movie—the kills are great, the killer looks awesome, there’s plenty of gore, and Soavi fills it with lots of color/nice shots… plus there’s the feather/key scene... a clinic on putting on tension! Worth it alone for the opening owl head ballet scene!

  At a time when the greats of Italian horror were starting to become more erratic with 
  their material, enter Michele Soavi. First with the 1985 documentary Dario Argento's World of Horror, and followed by 1987's Stagefright, 1989's The Church, 1991's The Sect, and finally…

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  Review by Sally Jane Black 6

  From its opening moments, this film declares itself to be a masterpiece of style (screencaps here; spoilers within). It toys with a neon, cocaine kind of atmosphere, but it is firmly rooted in giallo mystery, slasher suspense, and Hitchcockian flair. It is theatrical (how could it not be?), and there are issues with bad delivery and what I think was bad dubbing (?). The soundtrack is a bit mixed in quality. It occasionally lapses into characters doing stupid things, and the characterization isn't entirely profound. We get a few moments that show more than just a bunch of frightened people, but for the most part, it just has some surface personalities primed for emotional conflict and fear.

  And that's fine,…

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  Review by Lou (rhymes with wow!) ★★★★½ 13

  One of the better Italian genre movies of the 1980s and one of the best slashers, period. If this was an American production, I think it would have gotten the recognition it deserves. Stage Fright contains some topnotch kills/gore effects, plus the killer is so unbelievably badass.🦉🔪 The theatre setting is an inspired choice too.

  Great times watching this with first-timer, Michelle.

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  Review by Tears_in_Rain ★★★★½ 18

  It's kind of crazy that the first thing I watched, after finishing up a rewatch of the Halloween franchise, was a stylish Italian slasher about an escaped mental patient who puts on a mask and gets to work killin' folks. And, while I love the crap out of Michael Myers, it's crazy how much better this was than most of the films he appears in. Imagine, if you will, a world where Halloween had an Argentoesque aesthetic, Michael wore a creepy owl mask, and the kills were stylish and inventive, as well as satisfyingly gory. All this is missing is the whole holiday theme and suburban setting. Instead, life imitates art, as our killer stalks his prey in a theater,…

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  Review by 1313: Tony the Terror🌨️ ★★★★★ 12

  After enduring Metamorphosis, I needed some really GOOD Italian horror to return my senses to some sort of balance...and what better film than this beautiful 80’s masterpiece!

  A group of thespians find themselves locked in a theater with a crazy killer! This is one of my all-time favorite slashers for so many reasons. Directed by Argento protege Michele Soavi, this is just a damn fun movie. I feel like even in the hands of a less capable director, this could have still been a bananas good time (like Ghosthouse) but Soavi is incredibly capable and presents us with a great looking affair. The lighting is exquisite. The camerawork is very impressive. There are brilliant artistic touches throughout. There is a…

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  Review by Slig001 ★★★★ 1

  Michele Soavi's debut feature keeps the plot simple, but excels in the execution. Stagefright is often lumped in with Giallo (because it's Italian) but this is much more akin to the American slasher. We focus on a troupe of actors making an "intellectual musical" who become locked in a theatre after hours with a deranged former actor that has escaped from a mental hospital. The theatre setting allows for plenty of overlap between the show and the reality unfolding. It's a dramatic film - over the top performances, strong musical cues and stylish directorial flair from Soavi. The film really excels in the gore department - there's just one murder in the first half, but it moves at quite a…

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  Review by Sarah Jane 🔪 ★★★★ 15

  Michele Soavi, you cheeky fucker. You learned well from Argento and then some. Any movie with a killer running around in an Owl head is the one for me. Seriously, I felt like it was Peter Gabriel in that thing.

  There are some amazing shots in this one. I don't want to give anything away but that shot towards the end on the stage with the feathers floating down like snow is amazing. Such great stuff.

  Anyone who has this on their Hoop-tober challenge list is in for a treat. If you aren't participating in Cinemonster's challenge to beat all challenges, then you should watch this movie this month. Do yourself a favor and check out the new blu-ray for this.

  letterboxd.com/fookthis/list/one-of-us-one-of-us-cinemonsters-freaklike

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  Review by Marna Larsen ★★★★★ 6

  Probably the most random of his (well ok, with the exception of The Church). But I'm never gonna say, 'look, I'm just not interested in your wtf owl dance nonsense' and if I ever do, that thing isn't me; my advice is to kill it quickly before there are any more.

  And also adopt black cats.

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  Review by belial_carboni ★★★★½ 2

  Stage Fright is a crowning achievement of Italian horror and one of my all time favourites. A Whimsical fantasy of theatrical madness ripe with style and originality. This one checks off all the boxes for me and continues to mesmerize me with every viewing. Perfectly dramatic while walking a precise line of campy and mean spirited. And how iconic is that owl mask? Friggin love it.

  A twisted fairy tale that delivers some great gore, nasty practical FX, unhinged performances, top notch score and that Italian horror magic. Lighting in a bottle.

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  Review by c h r i s🫀 ★★★★★ 7

  “He's enjoying himself! Do you realize he's enjoying himself!”

  Stagefright is my favorite Michele Soavi film, always has been and always will be. It’s settled comfortably next to my second favorite of his, The Church. 
  There’s something really appealing about a killer in an owl mask killing a group of dancers in a confined & locked theater with all sorts of murder weapons and I can’t get enough of it!
  This is the perfect Italian slasher and my ultimate comfort movie especially on a sick day. From the opening dance scene, to all the dramatic theatre theatrics, the Argento inspired lighting, the fantastically gory kills, to Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Soavi nailed this in every way shape or form. 

  Towards the end…

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  Review by Jerry McGlothlin ★★½ 8

  There were a few moments where I really liked StageFright: Aquarius (by the way, whats with the ‘Aquarius’ part of the title?) but overall, I was underwhelmed. This seems to be a fan favorite and perhaps I was let down since I was going into this thing expecting a giallo for some reason? Maybe the Italian origin and all… I’ll give this another shot at some point and see if it grows on me, as of right now though, it’s a middle-of-the-road slasher with a very unique looking killer, some sick slayings and an awesome score equal parts sultry sax and slimy synths—that certainly has its charms—but just did not do much for me as a whole.

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  Review by Willow Maclay ★★★★ 9

  The premise is simple. A killer is loose on a set and everyone is locked in here with him.

  Now we wait.

  Soavi is a very good director, and seems to come from the school of Bava rather than Carpenter. When making slasher films these movies far too often get lost in formula with no real directorial flair to separate these movies from the pack, and in the 80s that pack was so overstuffed that a great movie like this is essentially lost. By using a theater setting this movie has the excuse to get really extravagant with stage design and colour. There's some beautiful usage of blue and grey in this that is the most striking. Lighting goes far…