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DRESSED TO KILL (1980) (***1/2)

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Many directors make a “Hitchcock” film and this film is just one of Brian De Palma’s “Hitchcock” films. Borrowing a lot from PSYCHO and a bit from REAR WINDOW, De Palma crafts a murder mystery that keeps the viewer on edge and wanting to know what happens.

Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson, 1960’s OCEAN’S ELEVEN) is sexually frustrated widower who has remarried a lug. Her son Peter (Keith Gordon, LEGEND OF BILLY JEAN) is a scientific genius. She visits her psychiatrist Dr. Robert Elliott (Michael Caine, SLEUTH) to talk out her problems. One day at the museum, in a very detailed sequence of images, Kate flirts with a stranger later identified as Warren Lockman (Ken Baker, SAFARI 3000). This incident will spin the film into unexpected twists and turns that are part of the joy of the film. Other chief characters include sleazy looking police officer Det. Marino (Dennis Franz, TV’s NYPD BLUE) and Liz Blake (Nancy Allen, ROBOCOP), a high-class prostitute who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This thriller is all about style and attention to detail. The museum scene is a brilliant example of telling a story completely without words. It’s the little details that De Palma uses to create the film’s tension and suspense. Characters have secrets that the audience knows, which the other characters don’t. It works like a puzzle that we just have to unravel. De Palma cheats at times, especially with the ending, but it’s the ride that we love, not pulling into the gate.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks