Roger Corman produced this low budget thriller that launched an entire sub genre for his production company to release in the late 80's and 90's. This stripper/slasher formula was recycled over and over again in films like Stripteaser and The Showgirl Murders and was probably partially responsible for the Demi Moore happy disaster Striptease. I generally like these films and even though the plots may be repetitive, I can't complain about a formula that alternates between lengthy dance numbers featuring topless actresses, and a crime thriller plot.

Kay Lenz (House) stars as Cody, a cop who goes undercover at a sleazy strip club to investigate the murder of a dancer named Angel (Michelle Foreman). It turns out that Angel is a lesbian who was in a relationship with another dancer named Roxanne. Cody does her best to find the killer while trying to balance her life as a cop with her life as a stripper and discovers that she kind of likes the empowering feeling that taking her clothes off provides. Also on hand is her cool-guy partner (B.J. And The Bear's Greg Evigan) who is trying to balance his support for Cody with his true feelings for her, and an supporting role from Norman Fell (Three's Company) as the owner of the club.

This is a very dated 80's movie that still plays pretty good if you don't mind the bad music and the abundance of nudity. The stripper numbers tend to be a little long but I can't say they weren't entertaining as some of them are pretty elaborate with props including giant spider webs, a motorbike, a snake, and knives. There are also some crazy dance moves that incorporate break dancing, Flashdance, and some other routines that look like they came from a pre-teen gymnastics class. My favorite of the dancers was a girl named Fanny (Tracey Crowder) who did the splits a couple of times while bounding across the stage with her crimped hair. Although it felt like there was a lot of dancing, there was still enough plot to keep me interested and to keep me guessing who the murderer was. I think that the fact that the Lenz character was so likeable also made the movie a lot more interesting. My only complaint about the film was a very strange ending that did not make a whole lot of sense even after watching the film a second time.

Director Katt Shea got her start acting in b-movies and has since graduated to directing bigger budget fare such as Poison Ivy and The Rage: Carrie 2. Shea also directed the sequel in 1989. (Josh Pasnak, 3/20/05)

Directed By: Katt Shea.
Written By: Andy Ruben, Katt Shea.

Starring: Kay Lenz, Greg Evigan, Norman Fell, Pia Kamakahi.