Review of Body Double (1984) by Robert H — 09 Jul 2011

This movie is just completely out of its mind. The entire movie is just one big Hitchcockian mindfuck. It shamelessly begs, borrows, and steals from Vertigo and Rear Window, but in doing so it both pays homage and completely distorts it.

Just replace Jimmy Stewart's fear of heights with a raging case of severe claustrophobia and you have the completely bonkers movie that is Body Double. It's crawling with campy acting and situations, extremely gratuitous nudity, and to top it all off a ridiculous-looking, scarred Native American mask, and it's all just SO glorious.

It's the kind of movie that just epitomizes the utter sleaziness of the 80's. The fact that its set around the trials and tribulations of an actor and the sickening nature of skeezy Hollywood sets, outright porn and casting calls just furthers the meta nature of it.

A ridiculous blend that transforms it into some sort of wacko mix of satire, thriller, softcore porn, and just pure insanity. I love the atmosphere in this, from the music to the sets, it's truly amazing.

The Frankie Goes to Hollywood music video is crazy beyond belief and is definitely part of what makes it the strange amalgam of things it is. More than anything, it dares to be extremely and remorselessly perverted and that's definitely something to be applauded for.

It almost becomes a more literal metaphor for what we become when we watch movies anyway, voyeurs. Making this outrageously sexualized and giving a protagonist who is entirely too obsessed with women gives this the bold uneasy experience this is.

Also, you really have to love Melanie Griffith as Holly Body, selling her porn star character like no other. Overall, this is a disgustingly fun movie and by the end of it there's really no way to easily define what you've just witnessed via the mind of Brian DePalma.