10 Forgotten 80s Horror Movies You MUST Watch

The realm of Italian cinema is renowned for its giallo productions, and Stage Fright (Deliria in Italian) is a seminal example of this. While its status as a giallo feature or a slasher flick is sometimes debated, there is no denying that this visually dazzling and claustrophobic project is impactful and unnerving in its own right.

Filled to the brim with 80s excess and style, Michele's Soavi directorial effort also works due to having a decent amount of substance to hold its spectacle together. The giallo offering follows a theatre troupe rehearsing a play about a fictional killer known as the Night Owl dealing with a real life murderer of their own, Irving Wallace (Clain Parker/George Eastman), after the latter becomes obsessed with the play's story.

Once an apprentice of famed director Dario Argento, Soavi and writers Lew Cooper and Sheila Goldberg infuses the project with a gallows sense of humour and interesting commentary on the relentless pursuit of artistic perfection and the sensationalization of violence in art.

Additionally, the imagery is impactful and this is especially true for the Night Owl's eponymous mask and the feature's giallo elements means the nail-biting setpieces are captured in surreal but somehow appealing colours and frames.