StageFright: Aquarius (1987) Deliria (original title)

Director:

Michele Soavi

Writers:

George Eastman
Sheila Goldberg (dialogue)

Release Date:

8 February 1987 (Australia)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The theatre of death

Plot:

A troupe of struggling stage actors is rehearsing for a small-town production of a play. Everything...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Play | Panic | Sadism | Long Hair

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

David Brandon	...	Peter
Barbara Cupisti	...	Alicia
Domenico Fiore	...	Police Chief (as Don Fiore)
Robert Gligorov	...	Danny
Mickey Knox	...	Old Cop
Giovanni Lombardo Radice	...	Brett (as John Morghen)
Clain Parker	...	Irving Wallace
Loredana Parrella	...	Corinne (as Lori Parrel)
Martin Philips	...	Mark
James Sampson	...	Willy (as James E.R. Sampson)
Ulrike Schwerk	...	Betty
Mary Sellers	...	Laurel
Jo Ann Smith	...	Sybil (as Jo Anne Smith)
Piero Vida	...	Ferrari
Richard Barkeley	...	Dr. Porter
Sheila Goldberg	...	Nurse
Danny Gordon	...	Dancer (as Dany Gordon)
Claude Jurman	...	Dancer
Mark Parkinson	...	Dancer
Helen Porter	...	Dancer
Dominique Portier	...	Dancer
Rackel Roskoff	...	Dancer
Frank Senica	...	Dancer
Simone Sadon	...	Dancer (as Simone Sardon)
Albert Schultz	...	Dancer
Sandi Schultz	...	Dancer (as Sandy Schultz)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michele Soavi	...	Young Cop (uncredited)

Directed by
Michele Soavi		(as Michael Soavi)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
George Eastman		(as Lew Cooper)
Sheila Goldberg		dialogue

Produced by
Joe D'Amato	....	producer (as Aristide Massaccesi)
Donatella Donati	....	producer

Original Music by
Guido Anelli
Simon Boswell
Stefano Mainetti

Cinematography by
Renato Tafuri

Film Editing by
Kathleen Stratton

Costume Design by
Valentina Di Palma

Makeup Department
Paola Bianchini	....	hair stylist (as Sidney Le Roy)
Maria Grazia Mazzolini	....	makeup artist (as Grace Ginsburg)
Adriana Sforza	....	hair stylist (as Paula White)
Pietro Tenoglio	....	makeup artist (as Peter Moore)

Production Management
Antonio Tacchia	....	production manager (as Tony Hood)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Claudio Lattanzi	....	assistant director (as Clay Millicamp)

Art Department
Rubina Michettoni	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Massimo Anzellotti	....	foley artist
Davide Castrati	....	sound recordist (as David Lee)
John Gayford	....	post synch director
Hubrecht Nijhuis	....	sound engineer

Special Effects by
Robert Gold	....	special effects (as Robert Gould)
Dan Maklansky	....	special effects
Roland Park	....	special effects
Alan Sloane	....	special effects

Stunts
Steve Lucescu	....	stunt double
Giovanni Ukmar	....	stunts (as John Ukmar)

Camera and Electrical Department
Saul Barry	....	electrician
Patrizio Basili	....	grip (as Peter Brockman)
Mark Caruso	....	grip
Carlo Alberto Cocchi	....	still photographer (as Jeff Hest)
Frank Cusimano	....	grip
Renato Doria	....	camera operator (as Jimmy Cohn)
Albert Ellis	....	grip
Jeff Herbert	....	electrician
Enrico Maggi	....	camera operator (as Hanry May)
Arthur Malone	....	electrician
Daniele Massaccesi	....	assistant camera (as Daniel Kalehoff)
Silver Murray	....	lighting technician
Salvatore Napoletano	....	grip (as Jerry White)
Roberto Nicosia	....	still photographer (as Robert Vinci)
Alfred Reed	....	lighting technician
Lawrence Ross	....	electrician
Peter Schrag	....	electrician
Bob Siegel	....	electrician
Paul Siegel	....	electrician
Elio Terribili	....	grip (as Brian Taitt)
Ugo Tucci	....	grip (as John Dunn)
Sam Winston	....	grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kuo Ami	....	wardrobe
Mirella Pedetti	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Giuliana D'Angeli	....	assistant editor (as July D'Angelo)
Enrico Grassi	....	assistant editor (as Henry Robinson)

Other crew
Carlo Caputo	....	production accountant
Vivi Levitt	....	continuity (as Vivy Levitt)
Mary Noolite	....	production assistant
John Therrien	....	production assistant
Charles Wallach	....	paymaster

Production Companies

• DMV Distribuzione
• Filmirage

Distributors

• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Another World Entertainment (2008) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Beam Entertainment (Japan) (DVD producer)
• Blue Underground (2007) (worldwide) (DVD)
• CMV Laservision (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Creative Axa Co. Ltd. (Japan) (DVD)
• DMV Distribuzione (1987) (Italy)
• Firebox (2008) (Finland) (DVD) (disc includes two versions 1.85:1 & 1.33:1)
• Hipervídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Luminous Film & Video Works (video)
• Video Instant Picture Company (VIPCO)

Also Known As:

"Deliria" - Italy (original title)
"StageFright" - USA (DVD title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:R | France:-12 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 | Italy:VM14 | Germany:BPjM Restricted | Norway:18 | Argentina:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2008) | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1991) | Portugal:M/16 | Hong Kong:III

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

DMV Distribuzione

Trivia:

The screenplay was written by 'Lew Cooper', one of numerous pseudonyms that writer George Eastman uses. In actuality Eastman's real name is Luigi Montefiore.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alicia is underneath the stage trying to get the key, the gun in her hand changes from an automatic pistol to a revolver in one shot - and then back to the automatic.

Quotes:

Ferrari:It's looking fine just the way it is, i think you've pushed the erotic angle about as far as you can.
Peter:the "Erotic Angle"? Mr Ferrari, where have you been all these years?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Eleven Days, Eleven Nights (1987)

Soundtrack:

Mystery Rouge

Fine addition to the giallo subgenre

DELIRIA

(USA/UK: StageFright: Aquarius)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Stereo

A group of actors become trapped in a theatre with a rampaging maniac who has just escaped from the nearby psychiatric clinic...

DELIRIA not only marked the directorial debut of Euro-cult favorite Michele Soavi (billed here as 'Michael' Soavi), it also marked a reunion of several prominent figures from the heyday of Italian exploitation. Produced by renowned sleaze merchant Joe D'Amato (Aristide Massaccesi - "Buio Omega", "Emanuelle in America") and written by splatter stalwart George Eastman (Luigi Montefiore - RABID DOGS, ABSURD), and co-starring John Morghen (Giovanni Lombardo Radice - CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD), this deceptively modest shocker attempts to subvert many of the clichés associated with 'traditional' slasher movies, and does it with style and grace. Viewers weaned on a diet of bland Hollywood 'horrors' may not succumb immediately to the film's wayward plot developments (including the central device of an off-off-Broadway stage musical which celebrates the very same serial killer who winds up massacring most of the cast!), but once the basic premise has been established, the narrative assumes a near-demonic life of its own.

Beginning with a frankly horrific sequence in which the masked killer is mistaken for an actor during rehearsals and encouraged to 'kill' a female co-star (only to commit the bloody deed for real!), Soavi's direction is razor-sharp and visually appealing. The murders are outlandish and gruesome, though also tragic in places (watch out for a shower sequence which operates both as a suspense set-piece and as a vivid demonstration of human cruelty), and Eastman's clever screenplay strips the characters down to their emotional core, revealing a gamut of fears and prejudices which leave many of them vulnerable to the killer's predations. The climactic sequence - in which a frightened young actress must retrieve an all-important key from its hiding place within inches of the killer's feet - is ghastly, beautiful and terrifying, all at the same time. Outside of these major set-pieces, Soavi's relative inexperience is betrayed by a couple of ragged camera movements and some odd editing choices, while the performances are compromised by flat post-sync dubbing. But overall, the movie is a triumph, one which plays Soavi's mentor Dario Argento at his own game and succeeds beyond all expectations.

(English version)