Frightfest 2014 Preview: Stage Fright Matthew Hammond July 17, 2014 Film4 Frightfest 2468 To most horror fans, few things are as terrifying as musical theatre. However, like Rocky Horror Picture Show and Phantom of the Paradise before it, Stage Fright threatens to break out as the new cult movie musical, lungs burst with song…and filling with blood. Inspired in part by the classic ‘Phantom of the Opera’, Stage Fright follows Camilla, a young girl whose mother was murdered just as she was ready to break out on Broadway in ‘The Haunting of the Opera’, working at a musical theatre summer camp. When the head of the camp decides to revive ‘The Haunting of the Opera’ kabuki style as the end of term finale, Camilla decides to take her mother’s fateful role. However, the curse of the show strikes again as a masked killer torments the cast members, ready to slay another leading lady. Featuring the likes of Minnie Driver and Meatloaf, Stage Fright is careful to deliver both quality, original songs AND gory horror in perfect synchronisation, always aware of the balance between horror and humour at play, to create a wry and addictive slasher-sing-along, sure to delight and convert members of the Frightfest audience. Directed by Jerome Sable, Stage Fright gets its UK premiere on Sunday, August 24.
