BEYOND DARKNESS (1990) (Severin Films Blu-ray Review)

BEYOND DARKNESS (1990)

Label: Severin Films 

Rating: Unrated

Region: A

Duration: 93 Minutes

Audio: Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)

Director: Claudio Fragasso

Cast: Theresa F. Walker, Michael Stephenson, Gene Lebrock, David Brandon, Barbara Bingham

Beyond Darkness (1990), not to be confused with Beyond The Darkness aka  Buio Omega, was released in Italy as La Casa 5 and comes to us from co-writer/director Claudio Fragasso and co-writer Rossella Drudi, the team-up that brought to us the deliciously awful Troll 2. It starts off with priest Father George (David Brandon, Stage Fright) administering last rites to an unrepentant child murderess named Bette (Mary Coulson, Door Into Silence) at a prison. As she is executed in the electric chair the priest envisions the spirits of the children she murdered surrounding her, and afterward his faith is so shaken by the experience that he hits the bottle hard and leaves the priesthood altogether. 

A year later we zero in on another priest, Father Peter (Gene Lebrock, Metamorphosis), who is moving into a new home in Louisiana where he has been assigned to replace Father George. Joining him are his wife Annie (Barbara Bingham, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan), their freckle-faced son Martin (Michael Stephenson, Troll 2) and young daughter Carol (Theresa Walker). It turns out the house has a evil history, aside from being the house from Lucio Fulci's The Beyond it was apparently built on land where witches were burned at the stake centuries ago. which as you might imagine does come into play. 

In the kid's room there's a creepy black swan rocking toy, one which rocks itself in the dark of night, so you know evil is afoot right from the get-go! It soon becomes apparent that the house is being haunted by a gaggle of undead witches draped in black veils that are out to get the children, pulling them into an evil alternate dimension which first appears as a bright light emanating from a hole in the wall. At this point it might be worth mentioning that this is quasi-sequel to both Ghosthouse (1988) aka La Casa 3 and Witchery (1988) aka La Casa 4, all of which are part of the unofficial La Casa series, which were unofficial sequels to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies which were retitled La Casa and La Casa 2 in Italy. They're not really connected and they are certainly not sequels to the Evil Dead films, but those Italians do love a good cash-in, don't they? 

Eventually the evil forces come after the kiddos, somehow the demonic witch ghost of the child-murderess figures into it too; possessing the freckle-faced boy, and the new priest ends up teaming with the previous priest from the start of the film to exorcise the demonic evil and save the boy. We get elements of Poltergeist and The Exorcist tossed into it, creating an over long mish-mash of euro-cult weirdness that is somehow both batshit and boring in the same breath. The flick is no great shakes bit for what it's worth I did enjoy it a bit more this time than last I saw it. This is the sort of flick that would be improved by having a roomful of friends with witty quips at the ready and plenty of alcohol on hand to get the most out of it. While there are some fleeting moments of creepy imagery and haunting atmosphere they are few and far between and not nearly enough to give this a general recommend. However, if you're on an Italian horror jag and get a kick out of the batshit late-80's, early 90's Italian horror you could do a lot worse. 

Audio/Video: Beyond Darkness was previously issued on a double-feature Blu-ray from Scream Factory with Metamorphosis. That HD transfer that was pretty soft looking with and muted colors, plus it was digitally scrubbed of grain for the most part. Unfortunately it looks like Severin are using the same Filmirage licensed scan, presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.66:1 widescreen with the same inherent issues. It's still watchable, just not optimal, this is an ugly film with diffuse cinematography steeped in fog machine and blasted white light atmosphere, it's was never gonna look pretty. 

Audio comes by way of Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono or English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. I preferred the English track, it doesn't have much depth or exceptional fidelity but it does the job, and the synth score by Carlo Maria Cordio (Aenigma) sounds cheesily good. 

Severin at least offer new extras; we get three new interviews: the 37-min Beyond Possession: Interview With Director/Co-Writer Claudio Fragasso, the 22-min The Devil In Mrs. Drudi: Interview With Co-Writer Rossella Drudi, and the 29-min Sign Of The Cross: Interview With Actor David Brandon. There's also a 2-minute Trailer for the film, plus a CD Soundtrack for the Carlo Maria Cordio score, which I appreciated. 

The interviews are pretty great, with Brandon recalling filming in New Orleans, which he says is one of his favorite cities in all the world. Also getting into his experiences making the film, sitting in the electric chair, his relationship with the the kids in the film, the strange vibes of the house, and they heavy use of smoke machines, and his preference for vomiting blood and not foam. Fragasso talks about the history of the La Casa series, his love of New Orleans and it's culture, hos thoughts on the paranormal, and some strange encounters he has had himself, how great the young actress Theresa Walker was, and what a disaster the American FX crew were, the film's success and his alter-ego Clyde Anderson. Co-Writer Rossella Drudi speaks about her Catholic upbringing, her love of demonology and the occult, her style of research for scripts, and a fun story about how her friend's attributed some incidents to the evil-power of the script, her love of New Orleans, and homages she peppered into the script, and how focused Fragasso was during the making of the film. The interviews are far and away more interesting that the movie itself, so if you're an extras junky this is worth the upgrade in my humble opinion, plus you get the CD soundtrack which I don't think has ever had an official release before. 

The 2-disc BD/CD release arrives in a black dual-hub keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring a brilliant illustration by the late Enzo Sciotti - the man was a horror poster legend and turned many a trash film into movie poster gold. Inside there's a 4-page insert booklet with writing on the film and a track listing for the 17-song CD soundtrack. 

Special Features:

- Beyond Possession: Interview With Director/Co-Writer Claudio Fragasso (37 min)

- The Devil In Mrs. Drudi: Interview With Co-Writer Rossella Drudi (22 min)

- Sign Of The Cross: Interview With Actor David Brandon (29 min) 

- Trailer (1 min) 

- Bonus: CD Soundtrack (17 Songs, 44 Minutes) 

Beyond Darkness (1990) is a bit of a early-90's Italian turd, but if you have an affinity for Italian horror trash it's got some cheesy charms, and I appreciate Severin Films for upgrading it with some solid extras and the CD soundtrack. 

Screenshots from the Severin Blu-ray: 

Extras: 

METAMORPHOSIS (1989) / BEYOND DARKNESS (1990)

METAMORPHOSIS (1989) / BEYOND DARKNESS (1990)

Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: R I Unrated
Duration: 96 I 93 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono, English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: George Eastman, Claudio Fragasso
Cast: Gene Lebrock, Harry Cason, Catherine Baranov, Jason Arnold, David Wicker I Theresa F. Walker, Michael Stephenson, Gene Lebrock, David Brandon, Barbara Bingham

Scream Factory have done a bang-up job hammering out the double-feature Blu-rays this year with some choice Amicus horror anthologies, a plethora of b-movie creature features, some goodies from the vaults of Charles Band and some Blaxploitation action, but for some reason these Italian schlock films always get me excited. once again Scream have raided the Filmirage vaults for another double dose of Italian scares, this time bringing us Metamorphosis (1989) and Beyond Darkness (1990), the latter of which comes to us from director Claudio Fragasso whom also brought us the deliciously awful Troll 2. Not sure if this was planned the the double-feature also turns out to be a spot light for wooden leading man Gene Lebrock who stars in both films.
METAMORPHOSIS (1989, Rated R) 
Synopsis: First up is the science-fiction/horror of Metamorphosis! When his experiments in genetics are mocked by his colleagues, maverick scientist Dr. Peter Houseman takes extreme measures to prove that his untested anti-aging serum works. Injecting himself with his miracle "cure," he soon experiences a terrifying change within himself that threatens not only the lives of those around him, but also his own sanity. From cult cinema mainstay George Eastman, Metamorphosis proves that nightmares may change, but fear is forever!

Metamorphosis from actor turned director George Eastman follows the mad scientist exploits of professor/scientist Peter Houseman (Gene Lebrock) who is conducting genetic research geared towards stopping the aging of humans, which sounds great but as so often happens in these sort of films stuff goes wrong. When his funding is threatened Prof. Houseman moves on to human trials, subjecting himself to his own, untested serum and what follows is a failed hybrid of The Fly by way of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with absolutely none of the charm of either. The scene where Houseman injects himself feels like it was stolen straight out of the Incredible Hulk TV series from the 70's, once you see it you will know what I mean. We do get some very minor body horror elements throughout but each one feels like a missed opportunity, and there's a very brief moment of lost time when the doc realizes he's been out on the town and does not remember it, but even that is only a shadow of an idea aped from far superior source material.

Lebrock is a decent enough looking guy, his Hollywood head shot says leading man material but the guy has zero acting chops and no charisma, plus the dialogue in this film is just the worse sort of mind-numbing pseudo-science you could imagine, you just cannot wait for the titular metamorphosis to begin, but you will be waiting a very long time, it's not until the final fifteen minutes or so that this thing takes off, so for seventy-plus minutes you're left to struggle through one boring dialogue heavy scene after the other. They throw in a love interest for the professor, a single-mom with an annoying kid, towards the climax the kid is on the run from the mutated Houseman at his lab, I kept hoping he would catch the little bastard. 

If you are patient enough to sit through it, or just skip ahead to the final moments, you will be rewarded with an awful man-in-a-rubber-suit creature effect and it is definitely worth the wait, if you enjoy laughing your ass off at bad practical effects work, if that is the case you are in for quite a treat!

The pace is dull and the cast seems bored, the only character with any zest is that of the older and crippled Professor Lloyd (Stephen Brown) whom is clearly out to destroy Housman's career and steal his life's work, he comes off as suitably maniacal and seems to be the only one tuned in to just what sort of movie they're making, everyone else is way too serious. There's also a bit of an intended "shocker" ending that is just deflated as fuck. I implore you do not watch this movie alone, you need drunk friends and lots of beer to make this work and even then you will be disappointed. 

BEYOND DARKNESS (1990, Not Rated) 

Synopsis: Next, take a terrifying trip into a world beyond fear, beyond belief… Beyond Darkness. When a man of God and his loving family move into a new house, they think they've found the perfect home…until they discover that their new digs were once the location where a coven of witches were burned at the stake! It's only a matter of time before the radio starts blaring satanic chants and the cutlery takes on a mind of its own. Will the awakened evil in this house have its final revenge, or can a plucky priest fend off what lurks Beyond Darkness? This tale of terror comes from Claudio Fragasso, the director of Troll 2 (so you KNOW it's good!).

The second-half of this Italian horror show is Beyond Darkness, concerning a Father Peter, again played by the slightly less wooden Gene Lebrock, who moves into a gorgeous home in Louisiana where he will spread the word of the Lord alongside his wife Annie (Barbara Bingham), son Martin (Michael Stephenson of Troll 2 infamy) and young daughter Carol (Theresa Walker), but the film has a evil history apparently built on land where witches were burned at the stake centuries ago. 

In the kids room is a creepy black swan rocking toy, one which rocks itself in the dark of night, so you know evil is afoot! It soon becomes apparent that the house is being haunted by a gaggle of undead witches who are draped in black and pull the children into an evil dimension, at this point it might be worth mentioning that this is sort of a sequel to Witchery (1988) and is part of the unofficial La Casa series, which were unofficial sequel to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies, and the other-dimensional aspect of it does have a similar vibe to Witchery, though I think Witchery was a better executed film, and even that wasn't so great, but it did star David Hasslehoff and Linda Blair, so it has that going for it. 

The uninspired movie sort of combines elements of Poltergeist and The Exorcist to create an overly long mish-mash of boredom, in fact this one makes director Claudio Fragasso's Troll 2 seem like a masterpiece by comparison. Again, this will require a roomful of friends and massive amounts of alcohol to squeeze any fun out of it. I will say that there are some fleeting moments of creepy imagery and haunting atmosphere from time to time, but they are few and far between and not nearly enough to salvage this spiritless demonic cash-in of a movie.

Audio/Video: Unfortunately the HD transfers for both films are pretty dull, I imagine Scream simply licensed the HD transfers from Filmirage or whomever the rights holders were and went with it, but the images are soft, colors are muted and both have had an awful digital scrubbing removing grain, fine detail and leaving behind a smeary and dull HD image bereft of life, which has been the case with most of Scream's Italian movies.

Onto the soundtracks we have an English language DTS-HD MA Mono track for Metamorphosis and Beyond Darkness has an English language DTS-HD MA Stereo, both suffer from what would appear to be just plain bad sound recording during the making of the movie, with Beyond Darkness suffering the worse of the two, some of the scenes in the Church are muddled quite a bit it's not a disaster but its not pleasing either, thankfully both films have the option of English subtitles. 

The only extras on the disc are HD trailers for both of the movies totalling about five minutes, otherwise this is a straight-up bare bones release. This is hard to recommend, both movies are Italian cult-cinema at it's worst and you would have to be a die-hard schlock enthusiast to need either of these on Blu-ray in my opinion, and I saying that as someone who loves a lot of crappy cinema, but these took me to task and then some, but there's part of me that is quite happy to have them on my movie shelf. 2/5 

STAGE FRIGHT (1987) (Exposure Cinema Blu-ray Review)

STAGE FRIGHT (1987) 

Label: Exposure Cinema 

Region Code: ALL

Duration: 90 Minutes

Rating:  18 Certificate

Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Michele Soavi

Cast: David Brandon, Barbara Cupisti, Domenico Fiore, Robert Gligorov, Mickey Knox, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, George Eastman

A group of theater actors under the direction of opportunistic director (David Brandon) are rehearsing for a new musical set to open is just a few days. The musical is The Night Owl and involves a serial killer that is raped by his victims. During rehearsals star
Alicia (Barbara Cupisti) injures her ankle and sneaks off to the nearest medical facility for treatment - which just happens to be a sanitarium for the criminally insane. One of the inmates there is a former actor turned serial killer named Irving Wallace who has murdered over a dozen people. Unfortunately for Alicia and her co star Betty (Ulrike Schwerk) the notorious killer escapes the asylum and hitches a ride with the ladies back to the theater unbeknownst to them. The killer dispatches Betty with a pick-ax to the face and her body is discovered by Alicia.

The cops are called in and they haul away the body and reveal that the killer must be the escaped Irving Wallace who murdered a male orderly at the asylum with a syringe to the neck. The authorities station a patrol car outside of the theater and the theater troupe lock themselves in the theater as the opportunistic director attempts to rework the musical to capitalize on the gruesome murder by making the notorious Irving Wallace the villain of the play - unaware that the murderous actor is inside the theater and as bloodthirsty as ever. 

That's the set-up for what is a pretty great late-entry slasher and one of the better Italian films of the era from first-time director Michele Soavi who honed his chops as not only an actor in such films as CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and ALIEN 2 ON EARTH but as the first-assistant director working for Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and Terry Gilliam. The man has style and it shows with his first feature film which is an assured, stylish and violent piece of Eurocult cinema. 

The theater troupe provide a fun cast of bitchy characters beginning with a pompous theater director (Brandon) and a sleazy producer Ferrari (Piero Vida) and then there's the cast highlighted by Giovanni Lombardo Radice of CANNIBAL FEROX as a gay actor who trades catty barbs with theater diva Laurel (Mary Sellers) - these two are a fun pair. Much of the other cast are forgettable more or less but they all have memorable deaths so who really cares. 

So we have a ton of awesome visual flourishes but and some obvious nods to Argento including a nice lift from TENEBRE, plus did I mention that the killer Irving Wallace wears an owl-headed mask! Maybe the most outrageous masked killer since the bear mascot in GIRLS NITE OUT! It helps that our killer has access to a wide range of weapons and uses them to their fullest potential, beginning with knifing an actress to death n front of the entire cast - the outfit he's wearing is one of the signature costumes of the musical and no one realizes the deranged actors intentions until the blood starts to flow. So far we've had a syringe to the neck, the pick-ax to the face and now a knife plunged into a a poor starlet' guts and they only get more violent throughout as the killer makes use of a power drill, a hatchet and a chainsaw - some seriously grisly murders that look great on camera. 

Now the script is a bit of a let down but these Italian horrors were never reality based in my

opinion and were quite fantastical. Logic more or less takes a backseat to blood-spattered visuals and gruesome dismemberment and I am alright with that trade-off. The gore gags are delicious and completely make-up for that hilarious and completely unnecessary finale. 

Stylistically this is a gorgeous film with some great stylized lighting, scenes are bathed in electric blue light and the colors are vibrant and very nineteen-eighties, very loud and obnoxious. A particular scene of the killer on stage with his victims displayed around him stands out as something quite special, it is almost hallucinatory as he sits upon a throne admiring the aftermath of his carnage while he strokes a cat named Lucifer as bloody feathers fall from the sky. Adding to the atmosphere of the film is an effective electronic score from composer Simon Boswell who also scored the films DEMONS, DUST DEVIL and PHENOMENA just to name a few. 

BLU-RAY:

Stage Fright arrives on Blu-ray from Exposure Cinema uncut for the first time in the UK
with a brand new restoration, color-timing corrected and produced from original vault elements and I must say that the restoration here is top notch and matches the Blue Underground Blu-ray in all respects. The print is damn near flawless to my eyes and the colors are vibrant with a very pleasing level of clarity. Black levels and shadow detail are strong and there's a fair amount of fine detail in the close-up shots. Currently my Blue Underground disc is out on loan but I must say without the benefit of a side by side comparison this would seem to be equal in all measures. 

The only audio option is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo Mix with optional English subtitles. The presentation is crisp and clean with a nice balance and no distortion. Dialogue is always clear and Simon Boswell's atmospheric score sounds quite nice. 

Minus the 5.1 surround Mix on the Blue Underground disc this is pretty much an even match with that disc - which is also region-free. Let's have a peek at the extras - for many this will be the hand that tips the scale. we begin with a new retrospective documentary with director Michele Soavi and actors Barbara Cupisti and Mary sellers plus screenwriter George Eastman (29 Minutes HD). In Italian with English subtitles. 

Giovanni’s Method - Interview with star Giovanni Lombardo Radice (21 Minutes HD) is on par with the interview on the BU disc with the actor who starred in CANNIBAL FEROX and HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK speaking about meeting Soavi early in his career and stealing a few roles they both auditioned for. In Italian with English subtitles. 

Alan Jones: The Critic’s Take – the critic and FrightFest co-founder discusses the film in detail (29 Minutes HD) features the critic speaking at length about his love of the film and his own experiences with Dario Argento, Soavia and Joe D'Amato. 

There's also a cool Cut Version Comparison (2 Minutes HD) featurette with a split screen comparison of the cut Avatar Video release and the new uncut version, plus the original theatrical trailer and a gallery with behind-the-scenes images and international artwork including the very cool alternate title of THE BLOODY BIRD! 

There are two extras that are not specific to the actual film, first we have the hour-long Joe D’Amato: Totally Uncut (55 Minutes HD) an hour-long interview with the director/producer in Italian with English subtitles that spans his entire career. And a very cool doc Revenge of the Video Cassette - documentary about VHS horror collectors (25 Minutes HD) featuring Dale Lloyd of VivaVHS site - while not specifically commenting on this film I did sneak a peek at a STAGE FRIGHT VHS on his shelves. It's a pretty hip extras with some fun VHS inspired music videos, fashions and fans of the format speaking about their love of all things VHS. There's also a nearly six minute trailer for ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST on the disc in HD!

SPECIAL FEATURES:- Original trailer (2 Minutes HD) 

- Still, poster and behind-the-scenes gallery featuring rare photos and international artwork (8 Minutes, HD)
- Cut Version Comparison (2 Minutes HD)
- A Bloodstained Featherstorm – Interviews with cast and makers, including director Michele Soavi and leading lady Barbara Cupisti (29 Minutes HD)
- Giovanni’s Method - Interview with star Giovanni Lombardo Radice (21 Minutes HD)
- Alan Jones: The Critic’s Take – the critic and FrightFest co-founder discusses the film in detail (29 Minutes HD)
- Joe D’Amato: Totally Uncut – Archival, hour-long interview with the film’s producer on his career in Italian horror cinema (55 Minutes HD)
- Revenge of the Video Cassette - documentary about VHS horror collectors (25 Minutes HD)
- Video Chillers – collector’s illustrated ’80s-style booklet featuring new articles on late gialli and overlooked slashers, trivia and biographies
- Limited Collector’s Edition (3,000 copies)
- Original artwork used on front cover

VERDICT:
STAGE FRIGHT is a damn fine slasher film with plenty of Dario Argento esque flourishes, I love that nod to TENEBRE! A fantastic looking film with vibrant neon colors and great lighting with an inspired masked-killer and some brutal violence -  there's just a lot to love about this film. This is the first release I've seen from EXPOSURE CINEMA and I am quite impressed. Keep in mind that this edition is limited to 3000 copies so act fast - truth be told I think I prefer the extras on this disc over the Blue Underground release. A top notch release with some great bonus content, a very high recommended.

STAGEFRIGHT (1987) (Blue Underground Blu-ray Review)

STAGEFRIGHT (1987) 

Label: Blue Underground

Region Code: ALL

Duration: 90 Minutes

Rating: Unrated 

Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD; 2.0 DTS-HD with Optional English SDH, French, Spanish Subtitles
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Michele Soavi

Cast: David Brandon, Barbara Cupisti, Ulrike Schwerk, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Mary Sellers

A group of theater actors under the direction of opportunistic director (David Brandon) are rehearsing for a new musical set to open is just a few days. The musical is The Night Owl and involves a serial killer that is raped by his victims. During rehearsals star
Alicia (Barbara Cupisti) injures her ankle and sneaks off to the nearest medical facility for treatment - which just happens to be a sanitarium for the criminally insane. One of the inmates there is a former actor turned serial killer named Irving Wallace who has murdered over a dozen people. Unfortunately for Alicia and her co star Betty (Ulrike Schwerk) the notoriouskiller escapes the asylum and hitches a ride with the ladies back to the theater unbeknownst to them. The killer dispatches Betty with a pick-ax to the face and her body is discovered by Alicia.

The cops are called in and they haul away the body and reveal that the killer must be the escaped Irving Wallace who murdered a male orderly at the asylum with a syringe to the neck. The authorities station a patrol car outside of the theater and the theater troupe lock themselves in the theater as the opportunistic director attempts to rework the musical to capitalize on the gruesome murder by making the notorious Irving Wallace the villain of the play - unaware that the murderous actor is inside the theater and as bloodthirsty as ever. 

That's the set-up for what is a pretty great late-entry slasher and one of the better Italian films of the era from first-time director Michele Soavi who honed his chops as not only an actor in such films as CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and ALIEN 2 ON EARTH but as the first-assistant director working for Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and Terry Gilliam. The man has style and it shows with his first feature film which is an assured,  stylish and violent piece of Eurocult cinema. 

The theater troupe provide a fun cast of bitchy characters beginning with a pompous theater director (Brandon) and a sleazy producer Ferrari (Piero Vida) and then there's the cast highlighted by Giovanni Lombardo Radice of CANNIBAL FEROX as a gay actor who trades catty barbs with theater diva Laurel (Mary Sellers) - these two are a fun pair. Much of the other cast are forgettable more or less but they all have memorable deaths so who really cares. 

So we have a ton of awesome visual flourished but did I mention the kicker - the killer Irving Wallace wears an owl-headed mask! This is the most outrageous masked killer since the bear mascot in GIRLS NITE OUT! It helps that our killer has access to a wide range of weapons and uses them to their fullest potential, beginning with knifing an actress to death n front of the entire cast - the outfit he's wearing is one of the signature costumes of the musical and no one realizes the deranged actors intentions until the blood starts to flow. So far we've had a syringe to the neck, the pick-ax to the face and now a knife plunged into a a poor starlet' guts and they only get more violent throughout as the killer makes use of a power drill, a hatchet and a chainsaw - some seriously grisly stuff. 

Now the script is a bit of a let down but these Italian horrors were never reality based in my opinion and were quite fantastical. Logic more or less takes a backseat to blood-spattered visuals and gruesome dismemberment and I am alright with that trade-off - the gore gags delicious and completely make-up for that hilarious final ending. 

Stylistically this is a gorgeous film with some great stylized lighting, scenes are bathed in electric blue light and the colors are vibrant and very nineteen-eighties, very loud and obnoxious. A particular scene of the killer on stage with his victims displayed around him stands out as something quite special, almost hallucinatory as he sits upon a throne admiring the carnage while he strokes a cat named Lucifer and bird feathers float in the air around him, very surreal stuff. Adding to the atmosphere of the film is an effective electronic score from composer Simon Boswell who also scored the films DEMONS, DUST DEVIL and PHENOMENA just to name a few. 

BLU-RAY:
Stage Fright arrives on Blu-ray from Blue Underground in stunning fashion and framed in the original widescreen aspect ratio with a fine looking grain structure. The restoration is top notch - the print is damn near flawless to my eyes. Colors are vibrant and the level of clarity is quite pleasing. Black levels and shadow detail are strong and there's a fair amount of fine detail in the close-ups, this is quite a step-up from the already quite nice standard-def DVD.

Audio option include DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo or 5.1 Surround Mix with optional English, French or Spanish  Subtitles. Not overly dynamic but clean and balanced with no distortion, the score sounds great and the surround mix adds to the atmosphere with some nice use of the surrounds. 

Already a home run wit sweet PQ and audio Blue Underground have stocked this disc with some great new extras beginning with a 19-minute interview with the director who discusses his early career and producer Joe D'Amato offering him his first feature film which was written by George Eastman ((ANTHROPOPHANGUS) going onto describe with some depth what it was to be a first-time director and the film's poor reception at the cinema.

the 12-minute interview with star David Brandon  begins by revealing he first met Soavi on the set of CALIGULA 2: THE UNTOLD STORY where his character cut out Soavi's tongue. As a theater writer/.director he was intrigued by the role of the theater director in the film and was impressed by the director's passion. He speaks of insisting that the director himself handle the very real chainsaw during his death scene and finishes up with a anecdote about Joe D'Amato. 

Star Giovanni Lombardo Radice (THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK) begins by revealing he stole two roles from Soavi before being cast in the director's first film. Apparently he helped doctor the script a bit and was quite good friends the Soavi at the time, admitting he had some difficulty working with a few of the non-professional on the set. 

Composer Simon Boswell speaks about his band LIVE WIRE and a fateful meeting with Dario Argento around the time of PHENOMENA that launched his film scoring career leading to gigs on that film and Lamberto Bava's DEMONS films. He speaks about the director's peculiar way of editing his scores at times and his own style and experimenting with synths and sound. He ends with a weird tale of making two albums with two separate Popes and his new band the UNDEAD who he brought together to perform his scores live. 

Extras are finished up with an 11-minute interview with make-up effects artist Pietro Tenoglio, the original theatrical trailer and an image gallery with 75 pics of stills, poster are of the various titles (AQUARIUS, DELIRIUM, STAGEFRIGHT)  and some cool VHS/DVD artwork from around the globe. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Theatre Of Delirium - Interview with Director Michele Soavi (19 minutes)
- Head Of The Company - Interview with Star David Brandon (12 minutes)
- Blood On The Stage Floor - Interview with Star Giovanni Lombardo Radice
- The Sound Of Aquarius - Interview with Composer Simon Boswell (18 minutes)
- The Owl Murders - Interview with Make-Up Effects Artist Pietro Tenoglio (11 minutes)
- Theatrical Trailer ( 2 minutes)
- Poster and Still Gallery (74 images) 

VERDICT:
A fun slasher film with more than a few stylistic nods to Dario Argento - and that's something to celebrate in my opinion. The enclosed space and the bird-brained killer are inspired choices and while the script falls short the damn thing is peppered with a number of creatively gruesome kills - there's just a lot to enjoy here. Blue Underground are white hot streak of superlative transfers and value-added extras, fans of Italian horror should want this on on their shelf ASAP.