She's Dressed to Kill starts in New York where Alix Goldman (Connie Sellecca) has just joined the books of the 'Barton Model Agency' run by Irene Barton (Jessica Walter), Alix is excited & looking forward to a career in modelling. Meanwhile Irene receives a phone call from has-been drunk fashion designer Regine Dalton (Eleanor Parker) who says she wants to hire her favourite models to put her comeback fashion show on at her mansion on-top of a large mountain to which all the fashion industry bigwigs will be invited to. Irene agrees & will go along with her photographer Alan Lenz (John Rubinstein) & top models Camille (Joanna Cassidy), Kate, Candy & Melissa. Unfortunately that very day Melissa is murdered after putting lipstick on laced with cyanide (no one seemed that bothered by it though so why should we?) so Irene decides to take Alix. Once there the fashion show goes ahead but during it Candy is found dead after having used poisonous nerve gas disguised as hairspray (again, no one really seems that concerned & are happy to just move the body 'out of the way'), then the power is cut off to the mansion & the remaining guests are stuck as the cable cars don't work. It soon becomes apparent that one of their number is a cold blooded killer & no one is safe...
So, IMDb has been up & running for 16 years & no one has yet commented on She's Dressed to Kill? I guess I have the honour of being the first to comment on this strictly average made-for-TV murder mystery. Directed by Gus Trikonis & written by George Lefferts this is passable entertainment at best, it has a slightly leaden pace, it really isn't that clever even though it tries to be & the obligatory twist ending is actually rather easy to figure out as I worked out who the killer was but I didn't guess their motives which require you to ignore any sort of logic or sense. The film takes itself extremely seriously & is bogged down by lots of dull dialogue, the script does a reasonable job of giving various people motives but when it comes down to it it doesn't need a brain surgeon to figure it out. The main character's are alright & fairly well fleshed out & the dialogue is OK if dull at times. On the negative side at 100 minutes the film goes on for too long & I'd have liked to have seen at least 15 minutes cut out & there's a fair amount of pointless scenes & footage to choose from. The version I watched was actually called The Catwalk Killer which is a much better title & the video box tries to set the film up as a Friday the 13th (1980) horror slasher with the tag-line on the cover saying 'Everyone's Trapped. Everyone's Afraid. Everyone but the Killer...' which it clearly isn't so don't expect any excitement, action, gore or on screen murder. It's more Columbo than Halloween (1978) that's for sure.
Director Trikonis does nothing special & it's all rather flat, bland & dull. It has no style & looks exactly like the cheap made-for-TV film that is most certainly is. There are no on screen murders & no blood or gore, damn those misleading video covers!
It's generally well made throughout but you just can't escape how bland & utterly forgettable it looks. The acting was OK but hardly Oscar worthy.
She's Dressed to Kill is an OK murder mystery, it's not exactly brilliant but there's just about enough intrigue here to maintain one's interest, just about. If you like these types of films then you will probably find something here to enjoy as for everyone else stick to repeats of classics like Columbo, Quincy & Murder, She Wrote.
So, IMDb has been up & running for 16 years & no one has yet commented on She's Dressed to Kill? I guess I have the honour of being the first to comment on this strictly average made-for-TV murder mystery. Directed by Gus Trikonis & written by George Lefferts this is passable entertainment at best, it has a slightly leaden pace, it really isn't that clever even though it tries to be & the obligatory twist ending is actually rather easy to figure out as I worked out who the killer was but I didn't guess their motives which require you to ignore any sort of logic or sense. The film takes itself extremely seriously & is bogged down by lots of dull dialogue, the script does a reasonable job of giving various people motives but when it comes down to it it doesn't need a brain surgeon to figure it out. The main character's are alright & fairly well fleshed out & the dialogue is OK if dull at times. On the negative side at 100 minutes the film goes on for too long & I'd have liked to have seen at least 15 minutes cut out & there's a fair amount of pointless scenes & footage to choose from. The version I watched was actually called The Catwalk Killer which is a much better title & the video box tries to set the film up as a Friday the 13th (1980) horror slasher with the tag-line on the cover saying 'Everyone's Trapped. Everyone's Afraid. Everyone but the Killer...' which it clearly isn't so don't expect any excitement, action, gore or on screen murder. It's more Columbo than Halloween (1978) that's for sure.
Director Trikonis does nothing special & it's all rather flat, bland & dull. It has no style & looks exactly like the cheap made-for-TV film that is most certainly is. There are no on screen murders & no blood or gore, damn those misleading video covers!
It's generally well made throughout but you just can't escape how bland & utterly forgettable it looks. The acting was OK but hardly Oscar worthy.
She's Dressed to Kill is an OK murder mystery, it's not exactly brilliant but there's just about enough intrigue here to maintain one's interest, just about. If you like these types of films then you will probably find something here to enjoy as for everyone else stick to repeats of classics like Columbo, Quincy & Murder, She Wrote.