Pele Nua

(1985) Nothing Underneath/ Sotto il vestito niente DUBBED CRIME THRILLER

Adapted from the novel by Marco Parma, co-written and directed by Carlo Vanzina that has camp ranger of Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, Bob Crane (Tom Schanley) finally receiving his first fashion magazine copy cover of his sister, Jessica Crane (Nicola Perring) who is modeling in Milan, Italy. And as soon as some guy attempted to get rough on her following her to the washroom grabbing her arm, her brother Bob feels it too. It is not long before she goes back to the Scale hotel room 303 is when a serial killer was waiting for her. And when Bob was not able to shake the danger off, he would then fly off from his job in Wyoming to Milan to investigate it starting from going into her hotel room before getting investigators involved. And that after speaking with Commissioner Danesi (Donald Pleasence) he finally tells him both him and his sister are telepathy linked as Jessica is his twin sister. He is unable to see the killer's face, but he is able to see the weapon he used which is a pair of scissors and the blood.

And although an obvious body double was used for Jessica's nude scenes, the other models did not have one.

Yellowstone Park ranger Bob Crane (Tom Schanley) shares a psychic connection with his sister Jessica (Nicola Perring), a top model working in Milan. After he 'sees' Jessica being attacked in a vision, Bob flies to Italy where he discovers that she has mysteriously vanished. Local police commissioner Danesi (Donald Pleasence) is unconvinced by Bob's bizarre story, at least until another model is murdered in the same hotel from which Jessica disappeared.

'A little bit of make-up, a beautiful dress, and nothing underneath'—so says a fashion photographer about the models he photographs in this glossy but unexceptional giallo from director Carlo Vanzina. Although the lens-man is talking figuratively, he might as well be speaking literally, for the girls in this film seem to have little call for underwear, revealing their hot bods in several sexy scenes (including one particularly gratuitous moment in which a model walks over a street grate to reveal her bare ass to the camera below!).

If only the violence had been as unrestrained as the nudity...

Although the hilarious 80s fashion and music, and the regular display of female flesh guarantee a reasonable time, Nothing Underneath is crying out for a few Argento-style moments of bloody excess; however, despite the film's killer brandishing a wickedly sharp pair of scissors, this is a frustratingly 'dry' giallo, a fact that will most likely disappoint the majority of the genre's fans (for whom a few really juicy kills are usually considered a must).

5.5 out of 10, happily rounded up to 6 for the use of a power drill in the fun finale and the hilarious scene in which Bob spies a woman in the building opposite indulging in a spot of masturbation, but rather than stand there gawping like most blokes would, he pulls the curtains and proceeds to fondle a pair of his dead sister's skimpy knickers!

Sotto Il Vestito Niente or Nothing Underneath is one of those releases that never had an official uncut release on DVD. Even the US DVD clocks in at 90 minutes. To find it uncut you will have to search the Japanese VHS release on the obscure 'Suncrown' label. It clocks in at 94 minutes and 14 seconds. 4 minutes more then all DVD releases worldwide. The VHS is very hard to find but still is it all worth searching?

If you are a giallo buff you will need this version and also the Donald Pleasance fans should search for it. He has a weird Italian accent. You can easily spot the extra 4 minutes throughout this flick, they have more drops and scratches. It's indeed a pure giallo with the black gloves and scissors but it's low on red stuff. Don't expect to see a Argento styled giallo.

The story is also rather simple. When Bob Crane (Tom Schanley) hears that his sister is in danger he immediately goes to Milan, Italy to find Jessica (Nicola Perring). Of course nobody believes Bob and detective Danesi (Pleasance) doesn't want to help until other models do disappear. Together they go hunt the maniacal killer as it's Danesi's last case.

When the killings happen it's all done off-camera except with the brown girl. And that doesn't help the giallo to become a classic. But it's full of gratuitous nudity and Pleasance with his worth voice is worth watching. A late entry in the giallo genre and not that good for the red stuff but the story flows smoothly, somehow you keep watching.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 2,5/5 Effects 1/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Not a top notch giallo but colourful and stylish enough and if the kills are not particularly stunning, the build ups are good and there is enough momentum to keep the film moving on. Very much a latter day entry to the genre, Mr Vazina happily includes many of the much loved elements from earlier gems, so much so that a lot of the time I found myself smiling as the good to see cinematic clichés appeared every now and again like money shots. The provocative title turns out to be rather delightfully appropriate, even if, of course, irrelevant to the story. Donald Pleasance just about keeps his end up, Tom Schanley is fine and the girls all lovely. Most enjoyable.

This one tries oh-so-hard to be a stylish giallo in the Argento-manner, combined with some erotica, and almost succeeds. Of course, you get all the pros and cons of the giallo-genre. Inventive cinematography, nice settings, elaborate murders, good score (by dePalma regular Pino Donaggio) and a plot with more twists and turns than you can shake a stick at, are bonus points plus a walk-on by Donald Pleasance who gives the picture a touch of class.

We also get silly dialogue to howl at, so-called actors/actresses who read their lines in incredibly stilted fashion (my 'fave' is the girl who says 'a maniac is trying to kill us all' with a tone of voice that suggests indigestion more than fright) and a motive for the killer that is far-fetched to say the least. Renee Simonsen is adequate in her part, as is Schanley. Because of the setting, the fashion industry in Milan, the array of beautiful women is neverending (but many of them are made up to look like hookers, not models), but almost none of them are presented in a positive way, rather as money-hungry bitches, ready to do everything for fame and/or money.

For the true giallo-fan there may be one thing that disappoints: the murders. If you are familiar with the works of Argento/Soavi/Fulci, you know that the murders should be vicious and yet beautiful almost. "Nothing Underneath" builds these set-pieces with some flair, but the payoffs (i.e murders) are usually (with one exception) pretty lame. However, the last ten minutes are quite suspenseful and competently put together, and Vanzina manages to pull off some neat set-pieces. Give it a try, but don't expect too much.