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A Kiss Before Dying (1991)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 2/15, 8/20

KissBefore
2/15: Many reviewers thought less of the 1991 version of A Kiss Before Dying and chided Sean Young for her performance.

Honestly, I've found it superior to the original. Matt Dillon is by far a better actor than Robert Wagner. He's excellent as the schemer Jonathan Corliss who, as a child, saw the company's logo on the railcars that pass by his house daily and wanted it to pay for his father's death. Then, he plans his ascension to the top by acquiring the established family business for himself through the magnate's daughter. It's fascinating but, of course, too simplistic.

Sean Young does more than enough to play the unsuspecting daughter who can't shake off her twin sister's suicide. Max von Sydow is superb as the father, and his scenes with Matt Dillon, who's surprisingly at ease, are the best parts. Another area of improvement over the original is the pace which is quicker and gets to the point rather well. There are clever, albeit somewhat Hitchcockian, moments that are taken from the original and rearranged to create a good story.

All in all, thanks to Matt Dillon, the 1991 version of A Kiss Before Dying is an excellent remake and supersedes the original in all aspects.

8/20: Wow...Sean Young and Matt Dillon in the same film.

I wish A Kiss Before Dying was set on fire by them, yet they never do. All the Hitchcockian elements are right there for the taking and I like the story and the symbolic ending, but the biggest trouble is the underwhelming acting by the principal leads.

Occasionally, Matt Dillon can be great; however, he keeps coming up short here. The energy is not there just like how Max von Sydow phoned it in. Therefore, I blame Sean Young for the lack of sexual tension; she was sexy in 80's films such as No Way Out, The Boost, and Cousins. In A Kiss Before Dying, what the hell happened? Her character is so frumpy that it's no wonder why Jonathan Corliss wanted her family's money after all.

All in all, although lackluster, I prefer the remake of A Kiss Before Dying over the original.