Post by Fickle81 on Dec 27, 2006 23:35:33 GMT -5
WARNING:MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK:
The Good:
-Great mis en scene and cinematography. The theater surroundings helped give the film an extra artsy vibe.
-Cool costume for the killer that seems awkward at first,but turns out to be very effective. There also seemed to be a cool method to his madness.
-Original execution of the slasher formula. It's essentially a slasher film that plays out like an isolated/entrapped monster movie. Most of the characters know what they're up against near immediatly and try to work together to get the hell out of the building they're locked in and get help. Not like most other slasher movies where most of the characters just get picked off one by one with their peers being oblivious until it's too late.
-Plenty of ample gory moments
-The sequence with the killer sitting on stage with all the dead bodies was awsome...probably the best moment in the movie.
The Bad:
-Pretty lifeless in the cast/acting department. Not really any likeable characters to root for,not even the main character. At least the director was supposed to be a unlikeable,but the rest of the cast pretty much was as well. Spending so much time with them as if they were interesting before the slashing ho down comes into play doesn't help matters either.
-The score was pretty inconsistent. At times it was effective and other times it was downright tacky...the funny part is that Silent Night,Deadly Night's score,which I'm rating right along with this movie,is pretty much the same way.
-That goddamn black cat...I swear cats in horror movies has got to be the oldest and most annoying cliche in the book...it's so bad that it even felt played out in the awsome film known as Alien,a full 8 years before this movie came out.
-Where did the killer get that pick axe that he used for the first kill? Normally I don't pick at little things like this,but I find it hard to believe that a pick axe was just lying around near a theater building.
-The cops waiting outside subplot was completely useless other than for delivering shitty humour that only detracted from the film's quality.
-Why in the hell did the director just stand there and allowed for his arm to get cut off? You've got a fucking axe in your hand dumbass! Try fucking using it!
-What was a gun doing in the desk? What possible need would somebody who worked or owned the theater have with a gun? You afraid you're gonna get robbed or something? Protection? It's a FUCKING STAGE THEATER! I hardly doubt theres anything of any value somebody would steal and it seems unlikely that you would need it for self defense if it simply sits locked away in a desk. It reeked of having been written in and put there for the sole purpose of the heroine having it against the killer...and it proved useless anyway because she didn't even know how to use it or have the smarts to turn the safety off.
-The ending was beyond retarded...the killer's eye movement and the grin during the last frames implies that he survived a fucking headshot...I'm not gonna purchase that,let alone swallow it. And then you had the black guy go on and on..."right between the eyes...see,right between the eyes...just like I said,right between the eyes...I got em right between the eyes." SHUT...THE FUCK...UP!
Conclusion:
While the mis en scene/cinematography,killer's costume/motive,clever play of the slasher film forumla,gore/kills,and the kick ass killer stage sequence with all his kills take the film a long way,its overall faulty execution really bogs down what could have been an awsome slasher movie. If this and the grossly overrated and mediocre Cemetary Man are Michele Soavi's best movies,I don't even want to begin to fathom how bad his univerally reguarded worst film,The Church,is. Don't get me wrong,the guy has talent...theres no question about that. Unfortunatly,he doesn't fully utilize it and comes off as a poor man's Dario Argento.
Overall though,Stage Fright is decent...nothing more,nothing less...
3.5/5
The Good:
-Great mis en scene and cinematography. The theater surroundings helped give the film an extra artsy vibe.
-Cool costume for the killer that seems awkward at first,but turns out to be very effective. There also seemed to be a cool method to his madness.
-Original execution of the slasher formula. It's essentially a slasher film that plays out like an isolated/entrapped monster movie. Most of the characters know what they're up against near immediatly and try to work together to get the hell out of the building they're locked in and get help. Not like most other slasher movies where most of the characters just get picked off one by one with their peers being oblivious until it's too late.
-Plenty of ample gory moments
-The sequence with the killer sitting on stage with all the dead bodies was awsome...probably the best moment in the movie.
The Bad:
-Pretty lifeless in the cast/acting department. Not really any likeable characters to root for,not even the main character. At least the director was supposed to be a unlikeable,but the rest of the cast pretty much was as well. Spending so much time with them as if they were interesting before the slashing ho down comes into play doesn't help matters either.
-The score was pretty inconsistent. At times it was effective and other times it was downright tacky...the funny part is that Silent Night,Deadly Night's score,which I'm rating right along with this movie,is pretty much the same way.
-That goddamn black cat...I swear cats in horror movies has got to be the oldest and most annoying cliche in the book...it's so bad that it even felt played out in the awsome film known as Alien,a full 8 years before this movie came out.
-Where did the killer get that pick axe that he used for the first kill? Normally I don't pick at little things like this,but I find it hard to believe that a pick axe was just lying around near a theater building.
-The cops waiting outside subplot was completely useless other than for delivering shitty humour that only detracted from the film's quality.
-Why in the hell did the director just stand there and allowed for his arm to get cut off? You've got a fucking axe in your hand dumbass! Try fucking using it!
-What was a gun doing in the desk? What possible need would somebody who worked or owned the theater have with a gun? You afraid you're gonna get robbed or something? Protection? It's a FUCKING STAGE THEATER! I hardly doubt theres anything of any value somebody would steal and it seems unlikely that you would need it for self defense if it simply sits locked away in a desk. It reeked of having been written in and put there for the sole purpose of the heroine having it against the killer...and it proved useless anyway because she didn't even know how to use it or have the smarts to turn the safety off.
-The ending was beyond retarded...the killer's eye movement and the grin during the last frames implies that he survived a fucking headshot...I'm not gonna purchase that,let alone swallow it. And then you had the black guy go on and on..."right between the eyes...see,right between the eyes...just like I said,right between the eyes...I got em right between the eyes." SHUT...THE FUCK...UP!
Conclusion:
While the mis en scene/cinematography,killer's costume/motive,clever play of the slasher film forumla,gore/kills,and the kick ass killer stage sequence with all his kills take the film a long way,its overall faulty execution really bogs down what could have been an awsome slasher movie. If this and the grossly overrated and mediocre Cemetary Man are Michele Soavi's best movies,I don't even want to begin to fathom how bad his univerally reguarded worst film,The Church,is. Don't get me wrong,the guy has talent...theres no question about that. Unfortunatly,he doesn't fully utilize it and comes off as a poor man's Dario Argento.
Overall though,Stage Fright is decent...nothing more,nothing less...
3.5/5