While a bunch of struggling stage preformers try to get prepared for the opening night of their new show a actor gone killer wreaks havoc upon everyone in the theatre.
During rehersal of an upcoming play our leading lady of the movie Alicia hurts her ankle and leaves set to try to get a doctor to help her out so she doesn't get kicked off set because she's hurting for cash and this is her only chance. Well, she ends up at a psyche ward type of clinic and as she's getting help from a doctor, an actor gone killer named Irving Wallace breaks out of his barred room and jumps in the back of Alicia's friends car.
So after being helped out a little Alicia and her friend go back to the theatre not realising that Irving is in the back of their car. So Alicia goes back in to try to get back on stage and her friend is on the way back in when she realises she forgot to turn her headlights off. So she goes back to turn them off and as she's coming back in she gets a pickaxe to the face by none other than Irving. Inside the asshole director Peter decides he has no use for Alicia so he decides to let her go, so she packs her stuff up and as she leaves she finds her friend's dead body in the parking lot next to her car.
 
Next we see the paramedics taking the body off and cops and reporters and the like and the head cop saying he'll put a squad car outside the studio while they search for Irving, the killer. You think that'd make everyone want to go home but no, the show must go on so a small group of performers go back inside with Peter the director and he breaks the news that he's trying to push the date up for the show due to more publicity after the murder. Well the asshole decides he'll lock everyone in and have one of his little biznatches hide the key, well she gets offed and doens't tell anyone where the key is so there's no way out and Irving is inside the building killing people left and right while wearing this strange owl's head mask.
Anyways, as this movie goes it's kinda strange, especially since it's based around a dance rehersal. Kinda freaked me out at first but once the movie kicked in the kill scenes were AWESOME and this movie turns into a great slasher flick. I do have to say that the ending pissed me off a little, it kinda drug out a bit in my book but hey, I guess that's just an italian thing. Michele Saovi directed this gem of a movie and I have to say that everything I've seen of his I've liked. Also by the names Deliria, Bloody Bird and Sound Stage Massacre this movie is a definate classic for all you slasher flick fans.
I recommend this movie to all of you Italian horror film fans, it doesn't fall short from what makes Italian films so great, the soundtrack was pretty good, the acting was pretty damn good and the kill scenes were great once they kicked in. A great flick.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Deliria, Bloody Bird, StageFright: Aquarius, Sound Stage Massacre
MOVIE YEAR: 1987
DIRECTOR: Michele Soavi
WRITING CREDITS: George Eastman, Sheila Goldberg
GENRE: Horror, Slasher
CAST: David Brandon, Barbara Cupisti, Domenico Fiore
COUNTRY: Italy
RUNTIME: 92 min
RATING: 7/10
StageFright Website/IMDB Click here
StageFright Trailer Click here
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