StageFright (1987) ***1/2

The owl is not what it seems.

This was the final night of Weirdo Wednesday in Lowell, MA (continuing on in Salem, MA, though it's likely I'll only make it out there once a month, tops), the weekly weird, obscure, and subversive film night that Rob Fitz (of The Magic Parlor)—along with Becky—presented at the Luna Theater in Mill No. 5 (tragically being shutdown in a few days; shoutout to all of the crew there over the years). 

Across 415 films, I made many memories and built a community of friends (family, really—shoutouts to Rob, Becky, Melinda, Kate C., Chris T., Bobby, Bobby's dad, Kate R., Isabelle, JR, Dylan, Sam, Peter, Matt, Amy, Ryan, Mike D., I could keep going and I apologize if I left you out...). Every Wednesday I had a blast watching movies with fellow Weirdos, to break up the monotony of the work week. Even when I had seen the films (which was probably 70% of the time), it was always great to spend time in a magical little independent theater in the company of like-minded individuals. I will cherish those memories and I will greatly miss WW Lowell.

If you'd like to watch a "greatest hits" video that I created celebrating the run of movies shown at WW Lowell, you can do so here (that link also contains links to the videos that I made for WW300 and WW400).

As for the the movie tonight, Michele Soavi's StageFright (1987)—I've seen it a few times before. It's a fun and bizarre slasher—highlights include a stage play about a murdered sex worker (replete with interpretive dance), an escaped lunatic wearing an owl's head as they kill off the cast and crew, and rooftop saxophone played by an actress in Marilyn Monroe garb—a perfectly appropriate sendoff for this chapter of WW. Stay weird!


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