Kiss Before Dying, A

"A Kiss Before Dying" is based on a novel by Ira Levin ("Rosemary's Baby," "The Stepford Wives") and was filmed before in 1956, with Robert Wagner in the lead role.

This time Matt Dillon stars as a psychopath with a surreptitious plan. He wants into the wealthy family of a Danish copper baron (Max von Sydow) and he's figured out just how to do it.

The opening scenes provide an incredible shock, which I won't give away, but it tells us immediately that Dillon is not to be toyed with. And as he marries von Sydow's innocent daughter (Sean Young) to further his status as the most ambitious social climber in the history of movies, Dillon thinks nothing of knocking off anyone who gets in his way.

"A Kiss Before Dying" is written and directed by James Dearden, whose most famous claim to fame is the short film "Diversions," which he eventually expanded into the Oscar-nominated screenplay for "Fatal Attraction." (In my estimation "Diversions" is actually better than "Fatal Attraction.")

Here, Dearden does stumble a bit — especially with some obvious editing errors that seem rather surprising for a major film like this one. His stars are also a bit too enigmatic. Not that it's so much a problem for Dillon, whose brooding demeanor and sloppy grin effectively bolster a sinister presence, but Young seems like too much of a cold fish most of the time — and early scenes where she plays an ingenue are not very convincing.

But most of the way, "A Kiss Before Dying" is a tightly constructed film that sufficiently builds suspense, keeping the hairs on the back of the neck rising on a regular basis.

It is rated R for graphic violence, some sex and nudity and scattered profanities.