Review of Dressed to Kill (1980) by Stephen M — 07 Dec 2007

It really annoys me when you get smart-ass cinephile types dismissing De Palma's work as mere Hitchcock pastiche, just to display the little knowledge they've acquired. At his best, De Palma just uses Hitchcock as a jumping-off point for his own style of suspense virtuosity, which is closer here to Dario Argento and the Italian giallo tradition. Nobody ever mentions it, probably because they're too busy ranting about shower scenes and cross-dressing, but the scene which most closely mimics "Psycho" is the psychiatrist's explanation of the crimes near the end.

I'd love to give this five stars but I just can't. Some of the acting is a bit wobbly, with Michael Caine alternately excellent or amateurish depending on the scene; his meeting with Dr Levy on the staircase is terrible. Though he's been accused of misogyny many times, the most offensive thing I find here is De Palma's depiction of the inside of the insane asylum, though it could be argued that the scene in question is just the nightmare of a character who would know no better.