TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE (1988)

                                  

                                                                                                               PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*                                   

                                                                                                               TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE, called a "sequel in name only" to the 1985 giallo NOTHING UNDERNEATH, picks up the earlier film's trope of "the world of modeling is empty of morals and/or intelligence."                                                                                                                                                                                                      I gave the 1985 film a rating of "fair" because I thought the writers came up with a novel way to involve an ordinary fellow (albeit one with an extraordinary talent) in seeking to find the murderer of his sister. But this time, director/co-writer Dario Piana (in his only horror movie) shows a young woman being abused by the representatives of the modeling culture and then slain. Though there is a character investigating her death (apart from the usual dogged cop assigned to the case), that civilian investigator doesn't "come out" until near the movie's end. So the main thrust of the story is that of "ten little Indians," as each of the persons who participated in the abuse gets knocked off in turn. Since the abuse is heinous-- a rich man wants to rape a particular model, and her manager and three other women facilitate the crime-- the viewer certainly won't mind seeing each of the guilty parties die-- though ironically the rich guy is murdered offstage. But then, he's not "too beautiful to die," and so Piana concentrates on the lovely ladies falling victim to the mystery killer. 

Aside from the opening rape-scene, Piana doesn't deliver any memorable cinematic murders, and there's not a lot of nudity. However, the director, formerly involved in producing music videos, delivers a lot of footage of gorgeous females, such as Giola Scola (as the victim), Randi Ingerman and Florence Guerin. The script tosses out a couple of clues about the murderer's identity and his modus operandi but then doesn't really deliver a payoff for said clues. The killer is revealed in the end and is good enough to explain all of his motivations to his intended victim, but though the rant is diverting it's never compelling. In other words, it's just another giallo with a lot of murders and pretty women, which may be all a given viewer really expects for his entertainment.