''Too Beautiful to Die'' ( it, Sotto il vestito niente II) is a 1988 Italian

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Dario Piana. The film is an in-name only sequel to ''

Nothing Underneath ''Nothing Underneath'' ( it, Sotto il vestito niente) is a 1985 Italian thriller film directed by Carlo Vanzina. The film is about Bob Crane (Tom Schanley) who has visions of his fashion model twin sister ( Nicola Perring) being murdered in Mil ...

'' (1985). It is about a group of models and dancers who find that one member of their crew has been raped and then later murdered. The group finds that the killer is taking revenge on anyone involved in the original assault, just as a new person joins their group for a music video-styled project. The film has received negative reviews from Scott Aaron Stine, Roberto Curti and ''L'Unita'' who found the film to be all style with no substance.

Production

''Too Beautiful to Die'' was shot in English and directed by Dario Piana, who mostly worked in making commercials. The film is an in-name-only sequel to ''

'' (1985).

Release

''Too Beautiful to Die'' was released in November 1988 in Italy. It grossed a little under 2 billion Italian lire. ''Too Beautiful to Die'' and ''Nothing Underneath'' were released on blu-ray by

Vinegar Syndrome Cellulose acetate film, or safety film, is used in photography as a base material for photographic emulsions. It was introduced in the early 20th century by film manufacturers and intended as a safe film base replacement for unstable and highly ...

in October 2021.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, a reviewer in Italy's '' L'Unita'' noted a lack of a good script while finding that Piana had a technical expertise comparable to directors like

Adrian Lyne Adrian Lyne (born 4 March 1941) is an English film director, writer and producer. Having begun his career directing 1970s television commercials, Lyne made well-received short films which were entries in the London Film Festival. He started mak ...

and

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

. Retrospective reviews from Italian critic Roberto Curti stated the film "looked like a lengthy music video with a barely coherent plot attached to it". Scott Aaron Stine wrote in his book ''The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s'' that film was "even shallower than [''

'']" finding that it was "undeniably more stylish (the Italian crew remembered their heritage this time out) but a heck of a lot less engaging than the first film (which is saying something)" and that "the characters are all sleazy and undeserving of anyone's sympathy, and the murders quite rote, to boot."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0096144 1988 films 1980s Italian films 1988 thriller films Italian thriller films English-language Italian films