Main cast: Esai Morales (Tony), Marie-Josée Croze (Mimi), Dorothée Berryman (Madame Moldonado), and Terence Stamp (The Host)
Director: Russell Mulcahy
If the title of the episode seemed familiar, it’s because it’s also the name of the 1990 direct-to-TV horror movie directed by the late Tobe Hooper. In fact, both that show and this episode are based off the story of the same name by the late Cornell Woolrich, his one and only spooky story, although they all indulge in significant creative liberties when it comes to the story.
Anyway, in this version of I’m Dangerous Tonight, a demon runs along the high rise buildings of Paris to drop a beautiful red cloth down the window into the studio of eccentric fashion-designing diva Madame Moldonado. Talk about the Fed-Ex from Hell.
Despite being terrified of seeing the demon making its delivery, Madame Moldonado is soon compelled by the fabric to make a dress with it, all the while cackling in an insane manner. Yes, the fabric has evil powers, who would’ve imagined it?
Her assistant seamstress Mimi didn’t witness the demon making the drop, so she assumes that her employer is being her same old crazy diva self. She’s currently having an affair with Tony, a criminal currently in hiding after having killed a cop.
When Tony is shot by another cop and plans to flee, she insists on coming along with him. He urges her to go back to the studio and steal whatever she can before meeting him later for the big getaway. Naturally, she is compelled to bring with her the red dress, even killing Madame Moldonado when the older lady catches her in the act.
Oh dear, what will happen next?
This episode has Esai Morales at his peak hotness, but sadly, he doesn’t show much of anything. As par for the course, it is Marie-Josée Croze that shows off the goods because the people behind this show seem to think that the people tuning in only want to see gratuitous female nudity, ugh. This is a crime against humanity, as more gratuitous nudity from Mr Morales could have made the 1990s a far better place and time.
The acting in this episode is actually pretty good, with Ms Croze playing pretty well at both the more vulnerable Mimi and the femme fatale persona that emerges when she’s possessed by the red dress. Mr Morales is playing a thankless role of a stereotypical thug, but he’s pretty and that’s all he needs to do here, heh.
The problem with this one is that the story feels too large for the run time. It attempts to portray Tony and Mimi as a pair of antiheroic characters that do have feelings for one another, but there’s not much done to fully develop that aspect of these characters. Everything feels especially rushed toward the end, and as a result, the episode ends on a pretty abrupt and unsatisfying note.
Still, this is a far better episode than the previous few, so three oogies for it feels about right. If Mr Morales had shown more skin, I may have tossed in another one, but alas, that’s not to be.
