Four years ago I wrote a few cult classic reviews for Diabolique Magazine, which gave me the germ of the idea for this post. After only writing a few paragraphs, life and other writing pulled me away, as often happens (seriously, you should see my drafts folder), and I let it sit. Then this year I spotted Dance with Death streaming on Prime, which prompted me to write this post, then dig out and finish this piece. So, while the world isn’t exactly clamoring for a Dance with Death meets Showgirls post, I like to discover lost drafts and polish them up for presentation now and then—meaning the world is going to get that Dance with Death meets Showgirls post, whether it wants it or not. And by “the world” I mean you, of course. Enjoy, it’s all in good fun.
Made during the peak direct-to-video erotic thriller era—which I just wrote about last month—Dance with Death (1992) tells a familiar story. You know the one: an ace reporter, who happens to be smoking hot, ditches her conservative business attire for high-cut thongs and garter belts and goes undercover as a topless dancer to get the story of a serial killer targeting strippers. Along the way she has steamy sex with the police detective (Cool Rider Maxwell Caufield) on the case. A tale as old as time, or at least as old as 1989, when Katt Shea’s Stripped to Kill (1989) told the exact same story, except there it’s a smoking hot police detective who strips to save lives. That one’s a classic too, and I wrote about it, plus the equally awesome sequel, for Diabolique several years ago.
We’re not here to litigate the blatant cash grab from Roger Corman’s Concorde Pictures (at least they gave Shea a story credit on Dance with Death). Corman did this kind of thing all the time, recycling movies over and over, usually to good success. Dance with Death is no exception; the movie is just a blast. And I get into all of this in my “Lost and Found” review of Dance with Death, so go read that and then come back here.
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You’re back? Good. Now let’s get on with what we’re actually here to do, and that’s examine the case of Kelly [last name redacted] v. Nomi Malone. Yes, our girl Hurricane Nomi is back, and this time I think she has some explaining to do.
If you’ve seen Dance of Death multiple times like I have (don’t judge, it’s a fun, trashy gem) and seen Showgirls as many times as I have (don’t judge, it’s the trashiest gem of all time), then you’ve probably noticed a few things. In Dance with Death, our beautiful wallflower Kelly* is a confident journalist, but when it comes to taking off her clothes in front of hooting and drooling men, well, she’s understandably a bit reticent. That is, until she gets into it, and then she’s a gosh darn natural! The crowd loves her. On the other hand, Nomi** is a snarling, high-kicking, pole-licking beast onstage from the get-go. She practically tears the club down every time she performs (trust me, it happened here at the Starfire Lounge). While their stage presences may differ, there are a few unmistakable similarities. I present to you Exhibit A:
In the top shot, Kelly hesitantly slides off her skirt to reveal a striking, nineties-style black bra and high-rise thong combo. In the bottom image, Nomi shimmies out of her negligee to reveal—wait for it—a striking, nineties-style black bra and high-rise thong combo. Nomi slips out of off her clothes with far more self-assurance and flair than Kelly, of course—she really plays to the salivating crowd—but that’s because Nomi is an attention whore and a certifiable narcissist. That’s why we love her, after all.
Then there’s Exhibit B:
Finally, I present Exhibit C:
Kelly and Nomi, eyeing their audiences and unsnapping their bras, in unison. Even their voluminous bottle-blonde hairstyles are similar—granted, all women’s hairstyles looked like this in the early to mid-nineties, but still.
Look, the black bra and thong combo is likely completely coincidental, because black is always in style. Yet there’s more than a little of Kelly’s disrobing technique evident in Nomi’s own strip. Again, Kelly is just getting her start in the biz (and it’s not her real occupation), so she’s a bit awkward at first, even turning her back to the audience. Nomi is, as always, having her way with the crowd. Yet their contrasting styles offer similar results: both women are talented; they just go about their work in polar (pole-er?) opposite ways.
What are the chances Nomi was trying to break big in Los Angeles at the same time Kelly was working the pole while in pursuit of a serial killer? If she caught Kelly’s act, maybe it stuck with her. Given her dark and shadowy past, it seems plausible she might’ve been dancing for dollar bills already in ‘92, dreaming of superstardom. Imagine a mythical shared universe where Dance with Death and Showgirls reside side by side, bare shoulder to bare shoulder. The mind reels at the possibilities.
Besides the dancing and the ways Kelly and Nomi look and pose alike onstage, Dance with Death and Showgirls don’t have a lot in common. Kelly comes from the tenacious, Lois Lane school of journalism, going to extreme lengths in pursuit of a serial slayer by making herself a target. In that sense, Kelly is heroic, while Nomi manages to play both hero and villain of her own story, sometimes even at the same time! Nomi isn’t chasing a killer in Showgirls; she’s just doggedly pursuing a delusional dream, which is almost as dangerous.
Maybe Kelly and Nomi have more in common than just superficial stuff like undergarments and cleavage after all.
*Kelly’s transformation from shy, inexperienced stripper to confident queen of the stage is charmingly portrayed by Barbara Alyn Woods. I find her performance in Dance with Death utterly captivating and definitely crush-worthy. Woods even did some more onscreen stage gyrations later in Striptease (1996)—this time with a giant snake wrapped around her neck!—before eventually going on to star or guest star in various TV series and films. In 2003 she landed a steady TV gig on One Tree Hill, where she played a prototypical WB/CW “hot mom.” Oh, and back in 1993 she posed for Playboy. I’ll wait while you all hit the Google machine…
**Nomi is brought to wild-eyed life by Elizabeth Berkley in a performance for the ages, the kind you can watch countless times and still be gobsmacked that such a performance even exists. Berkley was unfairly maligned and her career tanked after Showgirls bombed at the box office. Soon after though, fans worldwide elevated the film to cult classic status and her performance is the main reason why.
The Starfire Lounge 
The characters are indeed quite similar to each other in dress (lack thereof in this case 😉 ) and hairstyles, but Liz Berkley does it way, way better.
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