StageFright Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

StageFright Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 24, 2021

Michele Soavi's "StageFright" a.k.a. "Deliria" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shameless Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new programs with Michele Soavi and actors Giovanni Lombardo Radice and David Brandon. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

A group of young actors are rehearsing a play about a killer in a small theater. Because they are running out of time and some of the key pieces are yet to please the director, everyone is under a lot of pressure.

Around the same time a psychopathic killer escapes from a medical facility and ends up in the theater. After he locks the back door, he quietly begins killing the clueless actors. By the time one of them realizes that the blood all over the theater is real, it is already too late.

Michele Soavi’s directorial debut, StageFright, is a very atmospheric but fairly predictable film which borrows heavily from the visual style the great Dario Argento established during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. This is hardly surprising, however, as prior to StageFright Soavi worked as an assistant director on Argento’s Tenebrae and Phenomena.

Virtually the entire film takes place inside the theater -- it was shot in a small theater called Vides in the Prima Porta neighborhood of Rome -- where the actors, the director and the producer of the play are doing whatever they can to stay alive. The majority of the action is seen through the eyes of the young and ambitious Alicia (a very beautiful Barbara Cupisti, Dellamorte Dellamore, The Key), but occasionally the victims are also observed as the killer supposedly sees them. When the switch occurs, the camera becomes quite nervous and one can even hear some heavy breathing.

What gives the film its character is the unique lighting. Much like in Argento’s best films, in StageFright there is plenty of filtered light that creates a very tense atmosphere and makes the killings look far more sinister than they really are. Because of the cliched dialog and uneven editing the film still has a very distinctive kitschy vibe, but it does not look or feel amateurish.

The music that is heard throughout the film is fantastic. The soundtrack was created by British composer Simon Boswell, who prior to StageFright had collaborated with Lamberto Bava on Demons 2. It is a mix of soft jazz and early synth-pop and the end result reminds of the lush psychedelic soundtracks the likes of Piero Piccioni and Riz Ortolani created for various Italian genre films. (After StageFright, Boswell continued experimenting with electronica and created some truly spectacular soundtracks. One of his best is used in Richard Stanley’s cult film Hardware).

Cupisti looks a bit shaky in a couple of sequences, but her performance fits the style of the film. David Brandon is very good. The rest of the supporting cast, however, is easily forgettable.

StageFright was produced by the late Joe D'Amato (Porno Holocaust, Hard Sensation), who effectively launched Soavi’s career as a director, and Donatella Donati.

In the United States, StageFright has always been the original title for the film, but elsewhere distributors have used a couple of alternative titles to market it, such as Deliria (early title used in a couple of Eastern European countries), StageFright: Aquarius (international title), Bloody Bird (France), and Sound Stage Massacre (alternative home video title).

StageFright Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, StageFright arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shameless Entertainment.

In the U.S., Blue Underground released StageFright on Blu-ray in 2014. (You can see our listing and review of this release here). This upcoming release is advertised as being sourced from a new 4K master.

The main difference that I could spot is in the overall color temperature of the visuals, which is a bit surprising. (The framing discrepancy is irrelevant). Indeed, there is a very gentle shift toward yellowish hues that tend to impact all primaries, though the discrepancy can be quite difficult to spot in some areas. (You can get a general idea what this shift looks like if you compare screencapture #7 with the corresponding screencapture from our review of the U.S. release). In a few areas the dynamic range of the visuals is impacted, but I would say that the overall balance is still pleasing. This being said, at the moment I feel that both releases can have a superior color scheme. What surprised be a lot, however, is the lack of significant improvements in terms of delineation, depth, and fluidity, which are areas that usually benefit from a 4K makeover. For example, in a lot of areas the grain actually looks looser here, plus some darker areas struggle to reveal proper nuances. The encoding is partially to blame, but it is very possible that the grading is contributing as well. (You can see an obvious example of loose grain and artifacts in screencapture #2). Grain exposure could be better on the U.S. release as well, but its appearance there is tighter. There are no traces of problematic digital work. The entire film looks very healthy. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

StageFright Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. and Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH and English yellow subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the English LPCM 2.0 track, which should be considered the original track. It is a very nice track that does not show any signs of ageing. However, on the Blue Underground release there is a very good lossless 5.1 track that does plenty of interesting things to expand the dynamic field and effects, and trust me, this film has plenty of material that benefits from these enhancements. So, while I think that the 2.0 does a fine job of reproducing the native qualities of the original soundtrack, the 5.1 track should have been offered as well.

StageFright Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Staging the Fright" - Interview with Michele Soavi - in this new video program, director Michele Soavi quickly addresses the early stages of his career and specifically his relationship Dario Argento and Joe D'Amato, and discusses in great detail the conception and production of StageFright. Apparently, the film was supposed to be finished in four weeks, but at the end it took six weeks to complete because of various choices D'Amato made as a producer. Also, there are some quite interesting comments about the film's promotional campaign and performance at a few important festivals. In English, with imposed English subtitles. (45 min).

• "The Theatre of Blood" - Interview with Giovanni Lombardo Radice - in this new video program, Giovanni Lombardo Radice (Brett) discusses his friendship with Michele Soavi and his working methods, their interactions before and during the shooting of StageFright, his initial impressions of the screenplay for the film, as well as the finished film. Also, there are some interesting comments about his business relationship with Joe D'Amato and how he was approached with an offer to appear in Caligola - La storia mai raccontata). In Italian, with English subtitles. (21 min).

• "The Last Performance" - Interview with David Brandon - in this new video program, David Brandon discusses the production of StageFright and specifically the abandoned studio where the overwhelming majority of the film was shot, Michele Soavi's working methods, the film's visual style and tone (and specifically the choreography of the action/horror), as well as his current take on the film. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Cover - reversible cover featuring original poster art with the alternate title Aquarius.

StageFright Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shameless Entertainment's upcoming release of StageFright is sourced from a new 4K master that gives the film a marginally warmer appearance than the one Blue Underground's old release offers. Which is the correct one? To be honest, while not ideal, I think that Blue Underground's release has the slightly more convincing overall balance. Also, I think that Shameless Entertainment's release should have been encoded better because the key benefits the new 4K master should have offered are awfully difficult to identify. There is an excellent selection of exclusive new bonus features on this release, so if you are a fan of StageFright consider picking it up for your collection when it goes on sale.