Stage Fright

Another from-fans-for-fans product made under the auspices of XYZ films, whose founder, Todd Brown, has used his highly influential website focused on “unique” genre films to foster a target audience that enthusiastically eats out of his hand and is unfortunately also another nail in the coffin of genre films. Just as in the case of Killers, here we have a film that turns showy uniqueness and attractive imaginativeness into a formula in and of itself. The idea for a comedic slasher musical set in a summer camp has a lot of potential. However, with the exception of two well-choreographed and nicely staged musical sequences, it offers nothing more than insipid jokes endlessly exploiting a handful of prejudices about the world behind the curtain (a lecherous director to whose will actresses have to submit in order to get a role, closeted and out gays, hatred of metalheads). (02/27/2014)

The attempt at a horror musical has turned out quite well in my opinion. "Stage Fright" is not a great film, definitely not, but it is a comedy that managed to make me laugh at times, it is a horror that managed to disgust me in places. Overall, it is quite balanced and genre elements are used in places where they make sense and work. In this respect, it is simply a pleasant madness, where the presence of Meat Loaf, who looks the same as always, is also pleasing. (02/23/2015)