Sotto il vestito niente II

It's always nice to come across a worthwhile Italian Giallo that was made in the 1980's, because this wondrously unique sub genre of horror is almost automatically & irreversibly linked to the 1970's, more particularly the earlier years of that decade. During that period there were approximately a dozen of great films released each year, but this amount vastly decreased near the end of the 70's already. And throughout the entire 80's decade, only a handful of competent Gialli came out, including Dario Argento's "Tenebre" and "Opera", Lamberto Bava's "Midnight Ripper", Lucio Fulci's "The New York Ripper" and Alberto De Martino's "Formula for Murder". Dario Piana's contribution "Too Beautiful To Die" could easily join this short list, but the film is sadly obscure and almost impossible to track down. Maybe - and hopefully - this might change soon, as I just noticed that Dario Piana out of the blue directed "The Deaths of Ian Stone"; one of the movies included in the famous "8 movies to die for" horror event. Perhaps after gaining a bit of name-fame, some clever distribution company might dig up the director's earliest effort and release it on DVD. Here's to wishful thinking, because the film honestly deserves to be seen by a wider audience.

"Too Beautiful to Die", like so many other Gialli movies, takes place in a world full of gorgeous fashion models, perverted old rich bastards, extortion and of course sadistic murders. We step into the decor of a modeling agency when they're about to shoot an extended music video (I think) with the girls wearing exhilarating S&M outfits and waving around dangerously sharp daggers. The models are also involved in a network of prostitution, but when a promising young beauty refuses to have sex with an elderly client, her lifeless body is dragged out of a sunken car the next morning. The autopsy proves she was shot in the head before the car got pushed of a cliff. The shoot continues and the poor girl gets replaced, but shortly after everyone who was there that night is killed off with the macabre scenery used in the video. The plot is standard Giallo material, but there are a few pleasant and thoughtful twists and director Dario Piana upholds an adequate level of suspense and mystery until the very end. The starlets are indescribably beautiful, their revealing outfits are unimaginably sexy and there's one steaming hot (and admirably stylish) sex sequence to make it all complete. Perhaps one advantage 80's Gialli have over their 70's competitors, they are MUCH women-friendlier and respectful. The murders are obviously rather grisly, as they are committed with eerie daggers and even a replica Iron Maiden torture device, and the revelation of the killers' identity is absurd in a good old-fashioned way. "Too Beautiful to Die" actually only has one major downside, and it isn't even the film's own fault. It was an inexplicably popular trend back in the 1980's to stuff any movie, no matter what genre or subject matter, with annoying hit music and incredibly overlong footage of people dancing to it. Especially in the case of a whodunit, this completely ruins the atmosphere and brings the viewer out of his/her concentration. Also, another reason why 70's Gialli were so fantastic was because they featured their very own soundtrack (usually mastered by Ennio Morricone), whereas this gem has to settle for contemporary popular band, like Toto and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Apart from the cheesy 80's-flavored sauce, "Too Beautiful to Die" is a delicious Italian Giallo-dish.

Sleazy talent agent Alex Conti (Giovanni Tamberi) pimps out his models for sex. At the behest of a powerful client, he arranges for unwary young beauty Sylvia O'Neal (Gioia Scola) to attend one of his shindigs, where she is held down by the other women and raped. Fleeing the party, distraught Sylvia drives off in Alex's car; her charred body is found hours later in a burnt out wreck. As the police try to discover what happened to her, someone begins to kill off those who were also present at the party, the murderer's weapon of choice being a multi-bladed prop created for a music video.

Set in the glossy world of fashion models, Dario Piana's Too Beautiful To Die is a slick and sexy giallo, full of stylish imagery, but totally vacuous, the director exploiting his female stars' gyrating hard bodies in raunchy video-shoots before bumping them off. I have no problem with the film's objectification of women who make a living from their looks, but I do object to the film's lacklustre death scenes, which are bereft of creativity and decent gore. This kind of film lives or dies on the strength of its kills, and the relatively bloodless and mundane murders in Too Beautiful To Die are instantly forgettable, making this a mediocre effort overall.

Sylvia O'Neal is a successful model working in Milan. After the final shoot for a big ad campaign, Sylvia attends a party with some of the other models. Sylvia doesn't realize it, but she has caught the eye of an older, powerful man. She's doesn't realize that he will also be at the party or the party's real purpose. She refuses his advances, but she's not strong enough to fight off the other models. While they hold her, the man rapes her. Distraught, she leaves the party in a hurry only to be found burned to death in a car the following morning. It looks like an accident until the others at the party start turning up dead. And when the police discover Sylvia was shot through the head before the car crash, it's obvious a killer is on the loose.

The 70s were the heyday for the Italian giallo. So it's always nice to discover one made in the 80s, nevermind the late 80s, that's actually good. Too Beautiful to Die is a solid example of a latter day giallo. An unknown killer, a fantastically gruesome murder weapon, artistic touches (tracking shots and blue lighting), a boatload of beautiful women, and plenty of atmosphere - this one has all the elements you expect to find in a giallo. Too Beautiful to Die also features some of the best (or worst) of the 80s. The music, clothing, and hair - all from the 80s. The ad campaigns and music videos the women are working on are incredibly reminiscent of a Robert Palmer video. It's a visual straight out of the 80s. In fact, much of the movie is a bit like watching a string of 80s-era music videos strung together into a film. Plenty of style. Another plus for Too Beautiful to Die are the plot twists and turns you expect to find in a good giallo. There are plenty of clues and red herrings sprinkled throughout that will keep you guessing to the end. With about 20 minutes to go, I was sure I had things figured out. And while I was partially correct, the movie had one more curveball up its sleeve. Very nice. If it weren't for the poor explanation of the killer's motivation, a couple of slow spots in the screenplay, and some questionable acting, I could have easily rated this one higher. Still, it's a nice giallo that fans of the genre should seek out.

I hadn't really thought that this was going to be very much but I liked it, maybe I didn't expect too much happening. I had thought it had been, Nothing Underneath (1985) and that was a sequel but it is nothing like it at all. This director was early 30s and had written dozens of comic books and very famous TV commercials and made a couple of films but only this giallo. Of course it looks like and sounds something like MTV but as it isn't a wonderful thriller, the costumes and masks are great, the killings are splendid and the blades rather fun even designed by the director, Dario Piana. So this looks so slick but although it becomes rather silly at the very end it just about hangs together and for 90 minutes was thrilling.

The models of an agency are invited to a party by the owner of the agency, Alex. During the party, Alex is playing games in his computer and it looks like the girls have the house to themselves, but there's another guest…. and an accident happens - a fatal accident. This will start a string of murders - all those that were at that party begin to fall one by one. The police intervene, investigations are made, but the killer is like an elusive shadow….

"Too beautiful to die" (Sotto il vestito niente 2) is a giallo that uses successfully the aesthetics of music videos - there's a tasty blend of images and music. The film is atmospheric and the murder scenes are inventive and suspenseful. It's a treat for the eyes and ears – really gorgeous girls, flamboyant colors, good 80s music.

Highly recommended!

If you like bizarre gialli try "A taste for fear" by Piccio Raffanini, a strange mixture of giallo and science fiction - psychedelic colors, murders in a not so distant future, surreal and dreamy story. Recommended for those with adventurous tastes.