The Daily Dig: Dance with Death (1992)

If 90s Skinemax and softcore are your thing, you’re in for a treat of bare skin but a dearth of storytelling with “Dance with Death.”

A serial killer hunts exotic dancers as a reporter goes undercover to expose more than skin. Let’s dig into 1992’s DANCE WITH DEATH, directed by Charles Philip Moore!

As I See It

Barbara Alyn Woods’ character, Kelly, is a reporter who goes undercover as a stripper to investigate a serial killer who is knocking off dancers. So much of the film consists of stripping that the story almost never sees the light of day.

Kelly, who is uncomfortable the first time she dances, starts to thrive in her undercover role and takes on the personality of the other dancers, much to the chagrin of her new love interest, Detective Shaughnessy (Caulfield).

So many red herrings are shot in the process, I actually said out loud, “How many guys are the cops going to shoot before they find the actual killer?”

Without giving the “twist ending” away, it made sense pretty quickly and was very predictable. It’s confusing why the killer, once they reveal themselves to Kelly, puts a mask on to stalk her.

I have to give a lot of credit to the actors who had to dance nude in front of an entire cast and crew for days on end. It could not have been an easy task, and you could only hope the mood on the set was light and supportive.

My final thought on the film is how terrible the blood looked — like they spread strawberry jam on everyone’s skin.

Famous Faces

Lisa Kudrow plays Millie — yes, THAT Lisa Kudrow. She has what I assume is her natural brunette hair in this film. Of course, she would go on to star in a little TV show called Friends.

Martin Mull (Art) is one of the most versatile artists that has come through show business, and I’m not sure that many younger people know much of him, if at all. Besides playing Colonel Mustard in the brilliant live-action film Clue, based on the board game, he also played Leon in Roseanne‘s original run. It was his philosophical mind that really piqued my interest, though. Seek out for yourself.

Maxwell Caulfield (Shaughnessy) took the Travolta spot in Grease 2, but it’s his role as washed-up pop star Rex Manning in the influential teen comedy Empire Records that shot him to stardom in my book.

Barbara Alyn Woods (Kelly/Dominique) has been active since the late eighties in countless successful TV shows, including a couple of episodes in The Goldbergs alongside her daughter Natalie, a series regular. Most recently, she played Mayor Michelle Cross in the USA/SyFy series Chucky, which had Don Mancini stepping back into the world of murderous dolls.

I didn’t recognize Michael McDonald (Henry), but he is one of my favorite comedic skit actors who cut his teeth on two hundred-plus episodes of Mad TV.

Of Gratuitous Nature

Eighty percent of Dance with Death is nudity at a strip club. That level of saturation makes the storytelling feel gratuitous.

Heartthrob

Maxwell Caulfield could easily take this title, but I have to give it to Barbara Alyn Woods. Not only was she beautiful and put in a performance that was probably physically grueling to go through, but she birthed three gorgeous, talented ladies as well. Her oldest daughter, Natalie Alyn Lind, is great in the TV series The Gifted and starred in the prequel to Stephen King’s iconic story of grief, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines.

Ripe for a Remake

This is already a remake of another Corman production, Stripped to Kill. Even the cover is similar, with a knife being danced on instead of a gun. This is the second of back-to-back films I’ve watched from Corman that are explicitly sexual and based around a strip club. It’s changing my perception of him a bit as I’m used to the more oddball, schlock fests.

Spawns

No progeny to report.

Where to Watch

Released by Shout Factory as part of a double feature with Dance of the Damned. You can stream Dance with Death on Xumo Play, Shout TV’s streaming platform, or Roku with ads.