Stage Fright (1987) aka Bloody Bird, aka Deliria, aka Aquarius

Stage Fright is a great lesser known 80s Italian slasher film or Giallo (sub genre of slasher film from the 60s-80s that were mostly made in Italy and focused more on cinematography, creative kills, and overall production values instead of acting or plot). It is also the directorial debut of Michele Soavi (The Church, Cemetery Man) who was an assistant director to the king of Giallo himself, Dario Argento, on three of his most famous films (Phenomena, Tenebre, and Opera) as well as working on the Giallo cult classic Demons (1985). Stage Fright is about a theater company rehearsing a musical about a serial killer, when one night an escapee from a local asylum sneaks into the theater. The escapee from the asylum proceeds to hack off the cast one by one while wearing the costume of the

murderer from the play (the killer wears a giant owl head). Like most great Giallos this one has great cinematography, great music, and some really great creative kills, but what makes this one of the better Giallos is that the writing is actually pretty good. While some Giallos are all about gore, they are generally more intelligent and artsy than a lot of their american counterparts like the Friday the 13th films. While some of the deaths go uninvestigated, the whole theater group at one point realize they need to stick together (something that doesn't happen in most 80s slashers) though admittedly that doesn't last long. The most famous scene from this movie happens towards the end when the killer is chasing the final girl across  the stage and  it starts raining bird feathers as is they were snowflakes. The movie has gained a cult following over the years and even a loose remake in 2014. While some of the acting could be better, the rest of the production values in this film are top notch (including the plot development and writing), so for that reason it's a great lesser known slasher and I give it a 4.5/5. The movie is featured in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See book (see full list of films here).

The House by the Cemetery (1981)

I normally don't like films by Lucio Fulci, they are usually far too graphic and gory for me, and this film was no exception. Fulci's most famous film is 1979s Zombie: We're Going to Eat you! also known as "Zombi 2". Fulci's horror movies are famous for their gore (think Dario Argento's typical violence taken up a notch). Fulci also has some films famous for their Gothic imagery though, and this is one of those (the other one being The Beyond). I liked the cinematography as a whole, very similar to an Argento film, and I liked the fact that they actually filmed part/parts of this film on location in New York, because typically if foreign low budget independent movies are set in US cities, they film them in a different country and just try to get away

with it (Inferno[1980] for example). The sets and music were also really good. The adult actors were good, but the little boy annoyed me though ( they also dubbed his voice with a voice that did not seem to fit his age or looks). Plot wise I thought the story was very confusing, the boy's nanny seemed to have some sort of connection to the murders and such, but that was never really explained. The husband also had a secret and it's confusing if his secret was an affair, or something connected to the murders, not to mention the ending didn't really make much sense either (also similar to an Argento film that way). Plus I found the "monster"'s costume to be really fake, it didn't really have a face, it was horrible. And of course as I mentioned before it was far too gory for my taste, I'm talking Dead Alive (1992)[aka Braindead] levels of gore here. Too many limbs everywhere and too much bizarre mutilation, and when all that is shown, the camera sits on it for WAY too long in my opinion, a la David Cronenberg style. I give this one my lowest rating yet, a 2/5. I should also mention that like most of Dario Argento's films, and old Spaghetti Westerns, this film is dubbed in english, even though some actors and characters in it did speak english. This one is available to stream on Hulu.com, you can also view the trailer below:

Inferno (1980)

The sequel to Suspiria (1977) and the 2nd of Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy, Inferno, was also a collaboration between him and the other creator of Giallo cinema, Mario Bava. The involvement of Bava meant wonderful gothic imagery (candelabras cats and gothic architecture) the special effects were great and actually endangered the crew in many different ways (being burnt to death, clawed to death by cats, or eaten by rats). The film also had a pretty cool soundtrack, by one of my favorite musicians, Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake and Palmer. The sets and cinematography also resemble that of Suspiria a bit, and the acting is good, BUT there are some big logic and plot holes in it, and that is why I do not give it a higher rating. Argento loves to throw in crazy stuff to confuse the audience so they won't get bored with the film, or know what's coming next; while Hitchcock or Agatha Christie may be able to due that to their audience while maintaining logic, continuity and context, Argento just throws in red herrings without necessarily having any explanation for them. I give it a 3.75/5. The film is available to stream for free on Hulu, view the trailer below: