A Kiss Before Dying (1991)

A determined student murders his pregnant secret girlfriend and moves onto her twin sister who gradually becomes suspicious of her new lover.

Director:

James Dearden

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel), James Dearden (screenplay)

Stars:

Matt Dillon, Sean Young, James Bonfanti

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Bonfanti	...	Young Jonathan
Sarah Keller	...	Lecturer
Sean Young	...	Ellen / Dorothy Carlsson
Martha Gehman	...	Patricia Farren
Lia Chang	...	Shoe Saleslady
Matt Dillon	...	Jonathan Corliss
Yvette Edelhart	...	Screaming Lady
Max von Sydow	...	Thor Carlsson
Jim Fyfe	...	Terry Dieter
Lachele Carl	...	Reporter
Briony Glassco	...	Waitress
Shane Rimmer	...	Commissioner Malley
James Russo	...	Dan Corelli
Diane Ladd	...	Mrs. Corliss
Adam Horovitz	...	Jay Faraday

Storyline

Realising his secret girlfriend Dorothy's pregnancy will sour her relations with her ultra-rich father, career-minded Philadelphia student Jonathan Corliss coolly murders her, making it look like suicide. He then moves to New York to woo her twin sister Ellen. All seems to go well for him, although Ellen's continued investigations into what she is convinced was not a suicide forces him to kill again.

---

Plot Keywords:

neo noir | twin | industrialist | vertigo shot | female nudity | 

---

Taglines:

From the Creators of FATAL ATTRACTION

---

Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for areas of strong violence, graphic sensuality, and some language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un beso antes de morir

Filming Locations:

Brocket Hall, Lemsford, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,348,165, 28 April 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$15,429,177

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Initial Pictures, Kellgate Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adam Horovitz is seen driving a Volkswagen Beetle in the film - in real life, as Ad-Rock (of the Beastie Boys) - he wore a VW emblem as a medallion on stage.

---

Goofs

When Ellen looks out at the railroad tracks just prior to the final confrontation, she sees a freight train with a long line of cars with bright green Carlsson Copper logos. The logos, however, are printed on fake-looking prop fabrics draped over the cars.

---

Quotes

Nurse: She's got two broken ribs, a broken jaw, and a bad concussion. We're going to keep her overnight for observation.

---

Connections

Remade as Rishi (1992)

---

Soundtracks

Rubberman Rock This House
Written by Jon Moss
Performed by Rubberman
Courtesy of Big World Records

User Reviews

Decent plot, marred by awful acting

For this type of thriller, this movie is entirely average. The plot and overall theme is decent enough, but the film loses any potential it might have by featuring such lousy acting. Even Max von Sydow, who is a veteran and is normally an excellent actor was disappointing in this. The only actor who did even a decent job was Matt Dillon. The film also has a bad pace, it's far too slow; in fact, it's incredibly slow and boring, for such a short film; it's just over 90 minutes, yet I can't bring myself to sit through the entire thing again(I did once, but ever since then I haven't been able to do so). The climax in the film is also below average, and flat-out boring. The supposed twist-in-the-end was lame, and not to mention far too easy to figure out. Also, the film introduces the villain far too early, in my opinion. Five minutes into the film, you knew who you were gonna root against. That's just too early. The film lacks any real surprises, as well as any great qualities. The few scenes detailing the psychopath's gruesome murders are decent, but lacks any real intensity or excitement, simply because you know exactly what will happen. As far as thrillers go, this is average and entirely forgettable. I recommend it only to the biggest of thriller fans. 5/10