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 Funhouse (1981)

The Funhouse (1981) directed by Tobe Hooper (original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Salem's Lot, and Poltergeist) probably up there in my top ten favorite horror movies now, and if you know me that's saying something. The movie is on the same caliber as the original Halloween pretty much. It's the perfect creepy carnival movie. If the midways of carnivals or State Fairs kind of creep you out or their workers do, or clowns, or funhouses, this one's for you. Not only is it set in a funhouse but the actual film is a funhouse in itself, it's dark and has some good scares and TONS of random junk to look at it, it's a veritable I-Spy book at times. The only flaw I could find was that the bad guy's mask started to look fake the longer the shots stayed on it, but for the most part the camera did a good job of hiding the fakey-ness of the mask by not showing it head on for long or at all in many scenes, plus the movie has creepy hobos and a perfect storm and the funhouse gets a curse put on it too, I give it a 5/5. P.S. Don't too much research on this one, the biggest scare of the movie is revealed in lots of pictures if you do a google image search, so just read some reviews and watch the trailer: