My review was written in December 1990 after watching the movie on PM video cassette.
"Living to Die" is a mishmash of an action film, notable mainly for its unusual ending. Currently in regional theatrical release it is due to hit video stores in February.
The second feature as director for thesp Wings Hauser (after the 1989 production "Coldfire"), pic plays like a debut in its incoherent mix of conflicting elements.
Slow start is an irrelevant pre-credits sequence of Hauser as a police detective showing rookie cop Wendy MacDonald the ropes. Without adequate explanation, he's no longer a cop but a private eye type in film proper.
Old pal Asher Brauner hires Hauser to clean up a sticky business for him: femme fatale hooker Darcy DeMoss dies of a drug overdose in Brauner's presence and her boyfriend Arnold Vosloo is blackmailing him.
Tortured plot twist has DeMoss turning up alive and soon taking up with Hauser who tries to play both ends against the middle. Romantic interludes and nightclub scenes fail to advance the plot.
Surprise ending turns the picture into film noir but is hard to swallow.
DeMoss, a familiar face from action and horror pics, is impressive here either in or out of costume, and Hauser remains comfortable with tough guy roles. Brauner is effective in a change-of-pace, purely villainous assignment. South African thesp Arnold Vosloo, his accent aside, is a good choice as the slimy blackmailer whose main job is taking dirty photographs.
Technical credits including on-location filming in Las Vegas mark a step up fo the PM Entertainment outfit.
