Criminal Passion (also known as Angel of Desire) is a 1994 American mystery erotic thriller film directed by Donna Deitch, starring Joan Severance, Anthony Denison, and John Allen Nelson.
Melanie Hudson is a police detective who asks to investigate the mysterious murder case of a famous ballerina, who was slashed to death with a razor.
Two other detectives, Mike Verutti and Jordan Monroe, are also working the case and discover Connor's disgruntled ex-girlfriend Tracy Perry, a sculptress with a violent history.
[2] Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle said the film lands in the "much-better-than-average category" of sexy crime thriller movies that populate video store shelves due to Deitch's direction, though she conceded "it often falls victim to some stunted plotting and acting".
"[1] TV Guide wrote, "Smokily sensual and genuinely erotic, Criminal Passion works better as an adult video than as a coherent psychological thriller", adding it gets "bogged down by confusing motivations, subplot congestion, quasi-tough gal narration, and an inability to provide enough viable suspects to keep the whodunit game in a spin".