Stage Fright Review: Old-School Horror Done Right

The horror/slasher genre has been done over and over again with not much being done to add anything to aging formula, but this changes with Magnolia Pictures’ horror musical mash-up “Stage Fright.”

“Stage Fright” is an old-school slasher film that stabs the horror sub genre in the heart with a dose of adrenaline- mashing it with the extravagance of musical theatre and the humor of a dark comedy.

First-time director Jerome Sable helms the horror/musical and brings his theatre background to the forefront for the genre-mashing film.

The film starts ten years in the past; it is opening night for the production of “Haunting of the Opera.” The star of the show, Kylie Swanson (Minnie Driver), has given the performance of her career and comes backstage to celebrate with her kids, Camilla and Buddy. She then tells them to wait for her as she changes, but she is brutally murdered by a masked assailant.

Flash-forward to ten years in the future, Camilla (Allie MacDonald) and Buddy (Douglas Smith), have been taken by their mother’s friend and producer, Robert McCall (Meat Loaf). The two siblings live and work on McCall’s theatre camp. The camp is filled with snobby theatre geeks, who the Swanson clan are not too fond of; but when the camp’s latest production is revealed to be a reimagining of the reimagining of “Haunting of the Opera,” set in feudal Japan, Allie decides to audition for her mother’s last role.

The excitement of the camp’s latest production is quickly shot down when the Metal Killer begins to terrorize the camp.

“Stage Fright” is not only a slasher and musical, but it is a parody of the grandeur and pretentiousness of theatre. It serves a mirror to the ridiculous nature of the theatre. Sable looks like a seasoned veteran with his feature debut, seamlessly transitioning from tone to tone. Most directors in their debut play it safe, but she pushes the envelope with huge musical numbers and gore filled kill scenes. He is able to find equilibrium amongst the worlds apart genres he is balancing in the film.

The film does not work without its multi-talented cast led by Allie MacDonald. MacDonald is not only a talented singer; she is also a skilled actress. She conveys a sense of legitimate fear while hitting those high, high notes. Meat Loaf, who got his start in another little horror/musical called “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” brings veteran leadership the young cast. He brings a certain magnetism to the role of Robert McCall, and projects both comfort and terror with McCall.

The music in the film is top-notch. The film features live singing like that of the 2012 film “Les Misérables.” This makes each musical number look and sound better, flexing the actors’ vocal talents. The music does not only feature dramatic, fun numbers but the Metal Killer’s songs are, well, metal. Some numbers in the film mix both the dramatic and metal, fitting considering this fusion of genres is just like the film’s meshing of different genres.

The musical numbers are not the only thing in “Stage Fright” that is done in camera, the film’s death scenes are as well, all done practically. This adds to the throwback feel of the film, ditching CGI and making the audience cringe with some goretastic scenes. It is reminiscent of horror classics like “Friday the 13th” and “Halloween.”

One knock on the film would be the character development of some of the characters. “Stage Fight” has a huge cast and there are characters like Joel Hopton, played by Kent Nolan. Hopton appears at key moments in the film but is never fully fleshed out. The film’s short runtime has a lot to do with this, clocking in at about 88 minutes; a lot of characters are short changed.

“Stage Fright” hits the mark by providing a unique take on the slasher sub-genre. Jerome Sable dares to be different with his feature debut and succeeds by bringing mixing his theatre background with his passion for old horror films. Most people will probably be turned off by the shifting tones and satirical take on theatre aficionados; however its stellar cast, great music, and old school feel will have horror fans humming tunes after seeing this flick.