Sing your heart out.
Stage Fright is a horror musical directed by Jerome Sable and is his feature-film directorial debut. The film had its world release on March 10, 2014 at South by Southwest, a VOD release on April 3, 2014 and a theatrical release on May 9. It stars Allie MacDonald as a hopeful young singer terrorized by a killer at a musical theater camp.
Starry-eyed teenager Camilla Swanson (Allie MacDonald) wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a Broadway diva, but she’s stuck working in the kitchen of a snobby performing arts camp. Determined to change her destiny, she sneaks in to audition for the summer showcase and lands a lead role in the play, but just as rehearsals begin, blood starts to spill, and Camilla soon finds herself terrified by the horror of musical theater.
Starring musical theater veterans Meat Loaf (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and Minnie Driver (The Phantom of the Opera) Stage Fright mixes Scream with Glee in this genre-bending R-rated horror-musical from Jerome Sable, award-winning director of the celebrated short film “The Legend of Beaver Dam.”
About the Story
Ten years ago Broadway diva Kylie Swanson (Minnie Driver) opened the musical The Haunting of the Opera (A reference to real-life musical The Phantom of the Opera) to a packed audience. That same night she was murdered backstage by an unknown assailant wearing the mask of the play’s villain, Opera Ghost.
Years later Kylie’s children Camilla (Allie MacDonald) and Buddy (Douglas Smith) have grown into teenagers raised by Roger McCall (Meat Loaf), a former lover of Kylie’s and the producer of a musical theater summer camp on the brink of bankruptcy. When Camilla hears that the camp will be producing a kabuki version of The Haunting of the Opera, she decides that she’ll sneak into auditions one way or another. She manages to convince Joel (Kent Nolan) to let her in and Camilla easily impresses the stage director Artie (Brandon Uranowitz) and wins the lead role of Sofia – much to Buddy’s dismay.
As the opening day grows closer and closer, Camilla discovers that Artie will only let her perform on opening day as long as she provides him with sexual favors. He emotionally blackmails her by playing her off of Liz (Melanie Leishman), a camper that will do anything to perform on opening night. Camilla tries to ward off Artie’s attentions by only making out with him, which disgusts Joel – whom Camilla has largely ignored since the audition. The day before the performance Artie gives Camilla an ultimatum: either she sleeps with him or he gives the opening night performance to Liz. Camilla initially acquiesces to Artie’s overtures, but decides at the last minute that she can’t go through with it. That night Artie is brutally murdered by someone wearing the Opera Ghost mask, but Roger tells everyone that Artie died by accident. Unwilling to potentially lose a visit from important Broadway agent Victor Brady (James McGowan), who is only willing to watch the performance if Camilla is performing, Roger manages to persuade everyone to perform opening night as planned.
That night Joel tries to warn Camilla that Artie was killed and that the murderer is still out there, but his warnings go largely unheeded and the musical begins. All seems well with the musical and Victor until later in the performance, when Opera Ghost kills several performers and stops Liz from taking revenge on Camilla for performing on opening night. This causes a gap in the performance, which the cast tries to fill with impromptu music and dancing while Camilla looks for her missing co-star. She instead finds an ever increasing amount of bodies as the murderer kills more and more people. She manages to intervene when she discovers Opera Ghost trying to kill Roger, only to discover that her brother Buddy was behind the murders.
He rants that he did it because he didn’t want Camilla to get involved in the acting world, which he saw as corrupt- especially after he saw Roger kill their mother in a jealous rage. While Buddy is talking, Roger manages to free himself and stab Buddy to death. He chases her throughout the camp and corners her backstage, eventually forcing Camilla to kill him with a buzz saw and stumble onto stage. The audience initially assumes that this was all part of the show and applauds what they believe to be the finale. The movie then cuts to the Broadway revival of The Haunting of the Opera with Camilla as the lead. As she prepares backstage Opera Ghost lunges out of the mirror at Camilla, only for it to be a hallucination.
Btage Fright
Directed by: Jerome Sable
Starring: Minnie Driver, Meat Loaf, Allie MacDonald, Douglas Smith, Kent Nolan, Ephraim Ellis, Melanie Leishman
Screenplay by: Jerome Sable
Production Design by: Oleg M. Savytski
Cinematography: Bruce Chun
Film Editing by: Christopher Donaldson, Lisa Grootenboer, Nicholas Musurca
Costume Design by: Michael Ground
Art Direction by: Vicky Peters
MPAA Rating: R for bloody horror violence, language and some sexual references.
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
Release Date: April 3, 2014
Visits: 45
