I went into this film with my expectations set to 'low' as most of the best Giallo's were made during the seventies, and the majority of reviews that I've read on this film haven't exactly been full of praise; but to my delight, Nothing Underneath is actually a surprisingly good thriller! The plot, direction and acting are all rather mundane; but the film is elevated by a number of good twists, and a great sense of style emanating from both the modelling theme and the good ideas that have gone into putting the plot together. The film, naturally, focuses on murder; and we've got familiar Giallo elements such as a killer wielding a certain implement (in this case, scissors) and a plot deep enough for it to never completely make sense. The film's story centres on Bob Crane; a young man that experiences a vision of his twin sister's murder. His sister is a model in Milan, and after the premonition; he travels to Italy where he contacts Commissioner Danesi, who naturally doesn't believe him; until another dead model turns up, and then he has a case...
This film has a lot of ideas entwined within the plot, but not all of them are original. The fact that it's the Commissioner's last case is far too clichéd, while the idea of fashion models being brutalised is a common Giallo theme. However, the idea of a 'psychic link' between twins hasn't been seen in Giallo often, and even though it's not very well explored; it does provide an interesting basis for the story. One thing that is important to many Giallo fans (yours truly included) is stylish and bloody murders, and unfortunately this film doesn't have a great deal of them. Scissors are a prime weapon for a nasty murder; but not much blood is shown, and there is only one real nasty scene in the movie; which involves a young woman being stabbed in the back. The cast only contains one real name, belonging to Donald Pleasance. Pleasance is OK in his role, but he fails miserably at trying to be Italian. It all boils down to a well done exciting climax that sees the culprit revealed, along with a huge drill! Overall, Nothing Underneath is not exactly a prime slice of Giallo, and I am perhaps overrating it a little; but it's a well done film with a lot of plus points, and I'd recommend it to Giallo fans.
