Review of Dressed to Kill (1980) by David L — 17 Apr 2010

Brian DePalma's Dressed to Kill is often described as a slasher movie. And that is fair enough. However, I think it more accurately can be labelled a giallo that happened to be made in the U.S. This film clearly owes more of a debt to Italian movies like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage than to the later American slashers like Halloween. Many of the ingredients of the Italian giallo movie are present in this film - the psycho-sexual undertone, the androgynous black leather clad killer, the fluid camera work, the prominent musical score and the mystery element (whereas in slashers we often are fully aware who the maniac is). If Dario Argento had made a movie in America at this time, it might well have looked a lot like Dressed to Kill.

Also, similar to the Italian prototype, the film is not strong on narrative or script; some of the dialogue is very clunky indeed. However, this not a movie that is too concerned about such things. Dressed to Kill is, first and foremost, an exercise in cinematic style. DePalma has often been accused of ripping off Alfred Hitchcock and in this movie more-so than most. While the shower scenes that bookend the film are clearly homages to Psycho, DePalma adopts the approach, first advocated by Mario Bava in Blood and Black Lace, of stripping away as much of the story as possible and, instead, focuses even more on cinematic style and violent imagery.

DePalma is a master of potent imagery and there are a number of extremely effective set pieces here. The opening and closing shower scenes are both beautifully shot and very sinister indeed. The gallery sequence is masterfully choreographed and expertly shot. And most striking of all, is the elevator sequence, especially where Nancy Allen appears and is witness to the murder; the use of mirrors, closeups of eyes, the flashing blade and slow-motion photography all combine to produce one of the most unsettling but bravura short sequences imaginable. All of these scenes mentioned are also notable for having absolutely no dialogue in them at all. This just re-emphasises the point that this film is not about the writing but about the look and the atmosphere.

Don't check this film out if you like water-tight plotting - there are some plot holes here (there is even a bit of a cheat regarding the killer's identity in one of the split screen sequences). However, if you like movies that are frightening, lurid and beautifully shot then Dressed to Kill is a must. It is where exploitation movies and high artistic visual flair collide in a beautiful and bloody fusion.