Stage Fright (2014)★★★☆☆

I do have more to say about this but I’m still tired so you’ll have to live with brevity yet again.

I like the concept of this one – a horror musical. There are others in this genre that I quite like. But this one somehow tries to be a parody of the genre and an exemplar of the genre and unfortunately it fails at both. The lyrics are largely trite and boring and quite frankly they sound quite amateur and often childish. The melodies are all borrowed from other songs. The killer’s songs were the best of the lot and they weren’t all that great themselves.

The cast was okay. Maybe I have a soft spot for actresses named Allie (like the one who played Camilla). I love Meat Loaf (the actor/singer, not the food) and this isn’t his first horror musical, but he doesn’t shine here. They could have thrown anyone in who can almost hold a tune and they would have done fine. Minnie Driver was good as the twins’ mother but her cameo is so brief you’d hardly notice.

Oh, and the story is predictable. That said, it’s coherent and complete (if cliched). There’s little character development here so you won’t feel too invested in anyone. Oh, but the last ten minutes of the movie are actually a pretty decent horror movie. I wouldn’t recommend skipping this one completely, but it’s probably best as (literal) background music. Oh, the credits song is kind of cute, too.