Spoiler-Free Film Reviews: “Stage Fright,” “Sauvage,” “Pulp,” and “Morto Rossa” (Romford Horror Festival)
STAGE FRIGHT (France, 2023) Writer/director Alexandre Leroy’s terrific horror short Stage Fright (original title: Trac) finds an actress named Lily (Délia Espinat-Dief) about to make her debut on the opening night of a highly anticipated play. She is overcome by the titular nervousness to the point that reality and nightmarish visions blur. Leroy has crafted a fine blend of psychological horror focusing on the fear of failure and what lengths some artists may go to succeed, with giallo-style violence and lighting and no shortage of psychotic mayhem. Espinat-Dief gives a bravura performance as the nerves-stricken star of the play. SAUVAGE (France, 2023) In Sauvage, short-story writer Paul Rive (Felix Bruneau) returns to the hometown he left in disgust to talk with his former lover Wanda (Emma Lopes). Soon enough, he finds himself exposed to the very things that made him leave the woman and the city in the first place. Writer/director Ornella Barbé captures much of what I love about
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