Maria Diaz Movies

Traci Lords served as executive producer as well as star for this thriller concerning murder and infidelity. Elizabeth (Traci Lords) has given up a career in business to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time journalist, winning an internship at an upscale lifestyle magazine where her editor, Griffin, (Jeff Fahey) alternately praises her for her great potential and treats her a bit better than dirt. None of this pleases her husband Eric (Jack Kerrigan), who looks upon her writing career as a glorified hobby and resents the loss of her previous income. While the magazine is preparing a special issue on contemporary attitudes about sex, Elizabeth strikes up a friendship with Ann (Maria Diaz), who openly discusses an ongoing and very satisfying extramarital affair. Elizabeth is convinced Ann's story is perfect for the magazine, but Ann's romantic joyride soon jumps the tracks when she's murdered. Elizabeth finds herself tempted by Ann's former lover, Bob (Brian Bloom), while she wonders if the neat way these events fit together is just a bit too coincidental. The film is surprisingly light on nudity given the star and the themes (Lords appears to be developing a sense of modesty after all these years). Extramarital is an erotic thriller with the emphasis on "thriller," and features an unexpectedly strong performance from Lords, who is the best reason to watch this film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"I'm gonna dance," Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) insists in the opening scene of Showgirls, and dance she does. In this quasi-update of All About Eve, Nomi is a drifter whose sole ambition is to headline the "Goddess" topless dance show at the Stardust in Las Vegas. Of course, even Nomi must pay her dues, and she does so at the Cheetah, grinding poles and lap dancing her way to a future. Fortunately, her roommate, Molly, works at the Stardust and invites Nomi to see the show, where she meets Crystal Conners (Gina Gershon, in the Bette Davis role), with whom she immediately forms a love/hate relationship. Nomi soon learns what she must do to get ahead, and the rest of the film documents her cat-like crawl up the showgirl ladder of success. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, (Robocop, Basic Instinct, The Fourth Man), Showgirls was conceived as the first big-budget "adult" film since 1977's Caligula, and the first such production to wear the NC-17 rating; its failure at the box-office discouraged further attempts at large-scale adult productions. ~ Dylan Wilcox, All Movie Guide

Christina (Susan Dey) is a cocaine addict in a tumultuous relationship with an equally drug-addicted boyfriend. When she becomes pregnant, the baby is born not only prematurely but with the chemical dependency of its mother. Now Christina is in a fight to make her life clean and stable so that social services will allow her to have custody of her daughter. But first, she'll have to convince not only her jaded case worker, but herself, that she can. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Children's book author Meredith Cole (Christine Lahti) works out of her home. In fact, she does everything out of her home: she suffers from acute and debilitating agoraphobia. Recently separated from her husband, Meredith advertises for a boarder; soon afterward, Jane Caswell (Jennifer Rubin) arrives at her doorstep. Later on, Pete (Dylan McDermott), claiming to be Jane's brother, joins the household. When it becomes painfully clear that Pete and Jane are psychotic murderers, Meredith is too terrified to make a bid for escape, or even attempt to summon help. She finally comes out of her shell when the demented couple threaten the life of her young son (Thomas Ian Nicholas). Made for cable, The Fear Inside first aired August 9, 1992 over the Showtime Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Complete with real ABC News footage shot in Iraq, this made-for-TV film chronicles the lives of a group of American soldiers battling in the Persian Gulf War. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide