Back again with more Obscure Italian
Horror...because I can...also no one has written against it yet so
again RottenReelzReviews at Facebook or oddly enough you can write
rottenreelzreviews.blogspot.com for suggestions, hints, ideas or
general comments or complaints.
So we have experienced some of the
greats and some of the not-so-brilliant. This time around is
director Michele Soavi (The
Church, La setta, Cemetery Man, Francesco, The Goodbye Kiss, Blood of
the Losers, Political Target and Anti-Drug Squad)
a man that has acting with likes of directors Lucio Fulchi,
Dario Argento, Joe
D' Amato and Lamberto
Bava that he decided to throw
his hat in the directing wing with bizarre camera angles, mood
lighting and scores of orchestral to electric to add to the tension.
Soavi's directorial debut does not disappoint. This is Stagefright:
Aquarius.
 |
| LEARN....YOUR....LINES!!!!! |
The
subtle writings of George Eastman (Jailbirds, American
Fever, Anthropophagus, Sexy Nights of the Living Dead, Porno
Holocaust and 2020 Freedom Fighters)
left me worried this was going to be another boobage and gore fest
but apparently not quite. Our story opens on a troupe of actors who
are struggling from the grueling performance of their production. Our
lead, Alicia (Barbara Cupisti of Opera, The Church,
Flight from Paradise, Cemetery Man and Only You)
sprains her ankle. The wardrobe mistress Betty (Ulrike
Schwerek of StageFright: Aquarius)
and she drive up to the nearest hospital that just so happens to be
an insane asylum...FORESHADOW ANYONE???? While speaking with one of
the psychiatrists, Betty finds out that a famous actor Irving Wallace
(Clain Parker of StageFright: Aquarius and Eleven Days,
Eleven Nights) resides here
after a nervous breakdown...Irving manages to sneak out of the whacko
basket and slip into Alicia's trunk (boot for you folks across the
pond) and no one is the wiser. And you wonder why I don't want to
leave anywhere near a mental hospital.
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| This cast is dead on their feet! I'll slap myself for the pun. |
With
their director Peter (David Brandon of The Blade Master,
Don't Wait Up, High Frequency, The Prince of Terror, Modi, Casablanca
Express and Neverlake)
cracking the whip he informs the cast they are locking the theater
down until they get it right. An extravagant dance number with
some hot saxophone brings out some excellent choreography to this
performance art including an axe murder scene... no earthly idea why
that was added when it is revealed the dancer in question was
actually murdered. The troupe scared out of their minds demand Peter
let them go when they realize he no longer has the key to the doors,
the phones aren't working and they are cut off from the rest of the
world. Will they make it out alive to call the cops? Will they all
be picked off one by one?
A few
tidbits of trivia now. There is an excellent scene where Brett
(Giovanni Lombardo Radice of City of the Living Dead,
Cannibal Ferox, Gangs of New York and The Omen)
bows before a full length mirror only to see suddenly Irving there to
dispatch him. A nod to Argento's Tenebre. Composed by Simon
Boswell known for his creepier
scores from Argento's Phenomena,
Bava's Demons 2,
Mortal Sins and
Hardware it really
builds proper tension, suspense and terror.
Shot
with 35mm Spherical and using that fish eye lens for a 45 degree
slant down corridors and wonderful panned shots brings all the
bleakness together easily. For you gore fans there are chainsaw
scenes, decapitations and general mayhem that will satisfy your
bloodlust. For your more sophisticated pallet, you will find this
to be a thriller as much as a slasher so the death scenes give off a
sense of style and finesse.
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| Deborah Harry wants her wig back? Damn. |
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