Whenever someone says they want to make a musical, you wonder if anyone asked them "really?"
There is a problem in Canadian cinema and that is the severe dearth of good screenwriters. When someone writes his own screenplay and directs it himself, he takes more responsibility, takes a huge risk and the film has a higher chance of failure.
In this film Jerome Sable takes an even higher risk, adding music and lyrics to his list of responsibilities.
If you look at a successful musical such as Chicago, you'll see how many credits it takes to make a good one. The film is directed by Rob Marshall, who did not touch the screenplay, music or lyrics. The writing credits are Bill Condon (screenplay), who did not touch the music or lyrics. The music is by John Kander and Fred Ebb.
In Stagefright, Jerome Sable thought he could do it all. Music, lyrics, screenplay and direct. All in his first feature. This is a common mistake in Canadian cinema (see Score: A Hockey Musical, written, directed, lyrics, etc. all by Michael McGowan). That one has a score of 4.6/10, this one currently has 5.2/10, most likely due to the horror element.
This story is not sure what it wants to be. We don't know if it's a musical, a comedy, a slasher horror. The combination could've been good, but the songs weren't that funny, they actually interrupt the comedy, as do the slasher parts. In comedies, we want to laugh nonstop. I didn't find the songs that funny and I actually preferred the non-musical jokes (Japanese art reference).
The production looked professional, camera, lighting, sound, etc. I think the director should keep at it, but refrain from trying to do everything himself. There are a lot of good scripts out there that could be made into great films with the right hands. Doing everything makes one look like a one-man band.
There is a problem in Canadian cinema and that is the severe dearth of good screenwriters. When someone writes his own screenplay and directs it himself, he takes more responsibility, takes a huge risk and the film has a higher chance of failure.
In this film Jerome Sable takes an even higher risk, adding music and lyrics to his list of responsibilities.
If you look at a successful musical such as Chicago, you'll see how many credits it takes to make a good one. The film is directed by Rob Marshall, who did not touch the screenplay, music or lyrics. The writing credits are Bill Condon (screenplay), who did not touch the music or lyrics. The music is by John Kander and Fred Ebb.
In Stagefright, Jerome Sable thought he could do it all. Music, lyrics, screenplay and direct. All in his first feature. This is a common mistake in Canadian cinema (see Score: A Hockey Musical, written, directed, lyrics, etc. all by Michael McGowan). That one has a score of 4.6/10, this one currently has 5.2/10, most likely due to the horror element.
This story is not sure what it wants to be. We don't know if it's a musical, a comedy, a slasher horror. The combination could've been good, but the songs weren't that funny, they actually interrupt the comedy, as do the slasher parts. In comedies, we want to laugh nonstop. I didn't find the songs that funny and I actually preferred the non-musical jokes (Japanese art reference).
The production looked professional, camera, lighting, sound, etc. I think the director should keep at it, but refrain from trying to do everything himself. There are a lot of good scripts out there that could be made into great films with the right hands. Doing everything makes one look like a one-man band.