My review was written in May 1989 after watching the film on Republic Pictures video cassette.
Direct-to-video feature "Thrilled to Death" is a suspenser presenting an interesting situation of everyday peril, but faltering in a limp final reel.
Initial surprise is the solid performance of two porn stars, Krista Lane (here credited as Rebecca Lynn) and Rick Savage (credited as Rick Maris).
Central premise is an innocent young couple, Blake Bahner and Lane, who unwittingly fall in with a sinister couple (Savage and lovely Canadian thesp Christine Moore) while Bahner is researching a novel at a club for swingers.
They get involved in drugs, sex and murder and become amateur investigators. Final reel bogs down in endless exposition, including a dull airport phone conversation when action footage would have sufficed.
Except for this glaring lapse, director Chuck Vincent develops the melodramatic situations well, capturing and sustaining one's interest.
In the supporting cast, Christina Veronica impresses in her portrayal of an adult film actress, giving Bahner inside stuff in an interview. Inside joke is she's a straight thesp, while porn vet Lane as Bahner's wife is cast as the innocent type, quite convincing and sympathetic in a change-of-pace assignment. Guest stars Al Goldstein and Gloria Leonard play themselves, given a scene each to state their points of view.
Tech credits are okay.
