and he repeatedly says that if he'd been in her situation he would have shot Wallace right between the eyes. Willy comments that according to the newspaper only eight bodies were found, when there should have been nine including Wallace, at which point an unmasked and scarred Wallace appears and prepares to attack Alicia. Willy shoots the killer in the head, then Willy appears to go into shock as he keeps repeating about how he did indeed get Wallace "right between the eyes" while a disturbed Alicia walks out carrying the broken watch. Wallace then looks at the camera and smirks, apparently having survived his headshot. Cast Barbara Cupisti as Alicia David Brandon as Peter Mary Sellers as Laurel Robert Gligorov as Danny Jo Ann Smith as Sybil Giovanni Lombardo Radice as Brett Martin Philips as Mark Piero Vida as Ferrari Loredana Parrella as Corinne Ulrike Schwerk as Betty Domenico Fiore as Police Chief Mickey Knox as Old Cop Michele Soavi as Young Cop James Sampson as Willy (as James E. R. Sampson) Clain Parker as Irving Wallace Luigi Montefiori as Masked Irving Wallace (uncredited) Production The film marks the directorial debut of Dario Argento protégé Michele Soavi and was produced by Joe D'Amato. Soavi stated that on Stage Fright he "didn't feel ready to direct, but of course I said yes when I was offered a chance." Release Stage Fright was released in 1987. It was also released outside of Italy as Bloody Bird and Aquarius. Critical response AllMovie awarded the film three out of five stars, writing: "Stage Fright is primarily for the horror audience but they are likely to enjoy its visually inventive approach to the usually humdrum slasher subgenre", calling the film "a good example of how style can triumph over substance in a genre effort" and praising Soavi's direction. References Footnotes Sources External links 1987 films 1987 horror films 1980s slasher films English-language Italian films Films directed by Michele Soavi Films about actors Films set in a theatre Films set in the United States Films scored by Simon Boswell Films scored by Stefano Mainetti Italian independent films Italian slasher films Italian serial killer films 1980s Italian films Italian exploitation films Italian splatter films