There was a time where I was of the school of thought (yes, back in an era when I hailed Stanley Kubrick a genius, even though my nagging conscience correctly insisted otherwise) that dismissed Brian De Palma as nothing more than a blatant Hitchcock imitator. Granted, at the time I knew very little of Hitchcock, save for the signature "Psycho" and bits of "Frenzy" and "North by Northwest." Years later, and with a considerably diminished view of Hitchcock (there's really no way around it, folks--you praise him because you want others to think you're an uppity band of glowing intellectuals), I have re-visited De Palma's "Psycho" homage, "Dressed to Kill," and am pleased to report it as being as potent and effective as when it was first released.
Sure, it's a none-too-subtly-veiled riff on "Psycho," but its construction might be more brilliant and clever. De Palma not only conveys a keen sense of organization in how the plot unravels, but shows a cool calculation in his staging: a dialog-free 'chase' through a museum; a brutal murder in an elevator; and a rain-and-lightning drenched conclusion that is as erotic as it is terrifying. Every move seems charted in advance, and the viewer is just along for the roller-coaster ride.
Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson), a middle-aged woman unhappy with her upper-middle class lifestyle (not to mention her husband's weak output), enlists the services of Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine); sexual repression flashes like a big neon sign, to the point where Kate has a tryst that ends on a peculiarly ironic note (tapping into AIDS paranoia before it even surfaced) that quickly takes a turn for the horrific. A lethal blonde in dark sunglasses is stalking the streets, taking aim at promiscuous females with Dr. Elliott's straight razor, and it is up to a call girl (Nancy Allen, from "Carrie") and Kate's son, Peter (Keith Gordon--"Christine") to unmask the killer.
Sexual repression, cavalier adultery, prostitution, transvestism, psychosis, and the allure of eroticism that climaxes in violence are issues that pervade to this day, which suggests that "Dressed to Kill" was ahead of its time. That its content--from the frankly sexual to the disturbingly violent--still provokes a reaction speaks volumes for its longevity (especially in comparison to how poorly time has treated "Psycho"'s coy psychoanalysis).
While 'erotic thriller' would be a fitting categorization for "Dressed to Kill," it would also cheapen a film that is not luridly exploitative Cinemax fare, but shockingly tasteful and very mainstream. While De Palma wants more reaction for the visceral and less for the emotional is a weak spot (as prurient thrills fade), I cannot fault him for a job well done. Additionally, the film is buffered by strong performances and a menacing score by Pino Donaggio ("Tourist Trap") to create an atmosphere that is at once moody but also completely manufactured (another weak point).
In many ways, "Dressed to Kill"--with its focus on gender, sexuality, and murder--can be favorably compared to the Italian 'giallos' of the 1970s. Certain set-pieces (the elevator murder in particular) echo Dario Argento's skilled work; some of the graphic prosthetic makeup FX recall Lucio Fulci's "New York Ripper" (1982); and even Lamberto Bava (son of Mario) gave his own thinly-veiled homage to "Dressed to Kill" with his suspenseful slasher "A Blade in the Dark" (also 1982).
6.5 out of 10
Sure, it's a none-too-subtly-veiled riff on "Psycho," but its construction might be more brilliant and clever. De Palma not only conveys a keen sense of organization in how the plot unravels, but shows a cool calculation in his staging: a dialog-free 'chase' through a museum; a brutal murder in an elevator; and a rain-and-lightning drenched conclusion that is as erotic as it is terrifying. Every move seems charted in advance, and the viewer is just along for the roller-coaster ride.
Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson), a middle-aged woman unhappy with her upper-middle class lifestyle (not to mention her husband's weak output), enlists the services of Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine); sexual repression flashes like a big neon sign, to the point where Kate has a tryst that ends on a peculiarly ironic note (tapping into AIDS paranoia before it even surfaced) that quickly takes a turn for the horrific. A lethal blonde in dark sunglasses is stalking the streets, taking aim at promiscuous females with Dr. Elliott's straight razor, and it is up to a call girl (Nancy Allen, from "Carrie") and Kate's son, Peter (Keith Gordon--"Christine") to unmask the killer.
Sexual repression, cavalier adultery, prostitution, transvestism, psychosis, and the allure of eroticism that climaxes in violence are issues that pervade to this day, which suggests that "Dressed to Kill" was ahead of its time. That its content--from the frankly sexual to the disturbingly violent--still provokes a reaction speaks volumes for its longevity (especially in comparison to how poorly time has treated "Psycho"'s coy psychoanalysis).
While 'erotic thriller' would be a fitting categorization for "Dressed to Kill," it would also cheapen a film that is not luridly exploitative Cinemax fare, but shockingly tasteful and very mainstream. While De Palma wants more reaction for the visceral and less for the emotional is a weak spot (as prurient thrills fade), I cannot fault him for a job well done. Additionally, the film is buffered by strong performances and a menacing score by Pino Donaggio ("Tourist Trap") to create an atmosphere that is at once moody but also completely manufactured (another weak point).
In many ways, "Dressed to Kill"--with its focus on gender, sexuality, and murder--can be favorably compared to the Italian 'giallos' of the 1970s. Certain set-pieces (the elevator murder in particular) echo Dario Argento's skilled work; some of the graphic prosthetic makeup FX recall Lucio Fulci's "New York Ripper" (1982); and even Lamberto Bava (son of Mario) gave his own thinly-veiled homage to "Dressed to Kill" with his suspenseful slasher "A Blade in the Dark" (also 1982).
6.5 out of 10