Too Beautiful to Die

Director - Dario Piana (The Deaths of Ian Stone, Lost Boys: The Thirst)

Starring - Francois-Eric Gendron (Death Run, Murder, She Wrote), Florence Guerin (The Black Cat, Love Sins), and Randi Ingerman (Silk Stalkings, The Watcher)

Release Date - 1988

Genre - Thriller/Mystery

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I originally ordered the Nothing Underneath and Too Beautiful to Die double feature I was under the impression that both films were paired together because they were Body Double clones.  As I stated in my previous films, I had never seen Body Double nor do I know what it's about but I was looking forward to both of these films.  It wasn't until I was putting my reviews together for them that I realized that they are sequels in a loose sense.  Nothing Underneath was originally released in Italy under Sotto Il Vestito Niente and Too Beautiful to Die was released as Sotto Il Vestito Niente II.  Both films follow similar stories but are not really connected together by characters or anything like that.  Regardless, I enjoyed both of them but Nothing Underneath is the better film.

     The film begins at a party threw by the owner of a talent agency for all his models.  However, in the early hours of the morning one of them is found dead.  The talent agent and his models all have alibies but as the police investigate the matter other models start turning up dead all with connections to the party that night and what really happened.  

     I can see how Too Beautiful to Die would be considered a loose sequel to Nothing Underneath but both films can be enjoyed out of order.  Their connection only being beautiful women finding the business end of a knife.  With that being said, it's still a  wildly entertaining film that really does remind me of the films I would sneak and watch late at night on Cinemax.  The acting in this one is not the best I've seen but it's not bad.  The characters, much like Nothing Underneath, are generic and one dimensional but the cast does the best with what they were given.  I wish some of the more prominent characters would have been given memorable personalities or stuck out from the crowd but it's not too bad as it is.  The story for this one is pretty much the same as the first film except some minor differences.  The first involved models who are stalked and murdered...while Too Beautiful to Die is another film where beautiful models are stalked and murdered.  The first film does have a bit of a more sinister feel especially when the killer is revealed and what happened to the protagonist's sister.  However, this film is a little more polished, artsy, and predictable.  It's not a bad film but I enjoyed Nothing Underneath more.  Finally, the film has blood and beautiful women but don't expect memorable or gory deaths.  They work for the film but don't expect something to stick with you.  Overall, Too Beautiful to Die is a solid follow up to Nothing Underneath  but it's not on the same level.  It's worth a watch but don't expect a movie that will be revisited over and over.