Stage Fright

The theatre troupe rehearses a musical about Night Owl late at night. During the session, Alicia sprains her ankle, and she and Betty slip out to seek medical help.

At the nearby mental hospital, Irving Wallace, a former actor driven insane, murders an attendant with a syringe and escapes unseen. He hides in the trunk of Betty’s car, unseen by others.

Back at the theatre, Peter fires Alicia for leaving the rehearsal. He asserts his control over the troupe and the direction of the play.

Outside the theatre, Wallace murders Betty with a pickaxe to the mouth in a brutal attack. The sudden killing raises the stakes for the troupe.

Alicia discovers Betty's body and alerts the police. Officers are stationed outside the theatre to monitor the remaining cast.

Peter uses the tragedy to rewrite the production, making Wallace the villain and insisting the troupe stay to rehearse. His changes set a darker tone for the performances.

Corinne secretly hides the theatre’s exit key on Peter’s instruction, keeping the door locked from within and trapping the cast.

Wallace dons the owl costume designed for the show and begins stalking the cast from the shadows. The tension rises as he moves through the theatre.

A wave of killings begins: Corinne is strangled and stabbed, Ferrari is stabbed and hung, and Mark is killed when Wallace drills through a door. The deaths trigger panic and confusion among the survivors.

Peter and Danny witness Mark’s death and try to stay together. On the catwalk, Peter mistakenly spots the killer and axes Brett, who is wearing a spare owl costume.

Wallace continues his rampage, killing Sybil and Danny, injuring Laurel, and attacking Peter, severing his arm with a chainsaw. The assault culminates with Wallace decapitating Peter using an axe.

Alicia regains consciousness to find Laurel wounded in the showers, and Wallace finishes her off. The killer’s brutal spree continues as the survivors hide.

Alicia searches for the missing key, discovers Wallace has arranged the bodies around the stage, retrieves the key, and fends him off with a fire extinguisher before escaping to the catwalks.

The next morning, Alicia returns for her watch; Willy notes he would have shot Wallace between the eyes. Newspapers report eight victims, with Wallace expected to be the ninth.

Suddenly, a scarred Wallace lunges at Alicia, but Willy shoots him in the head, ending the immediate threat. Shaken, Alicia leaves the theatre, while Wallace smirks at the camera, implying he has survived.