Mysterious story , competent performances and sense of style dealing with a twisted series killer . Contemporary and attractive thriller merges bombastic Brian DePalma with a tense Hitchcockian flare . Sexually unsatisfied Kate (Angie Dickinson) is told to have an affair by her sympathetic shrink Dr Elliott (Michael Caine) and ends up in a bed with a man who catches her eye in a museum . Then a crime takes place and prostitute called Liz (Nancy Allen) and Kate's son (Keith Gordon) team up with Liz track and lure the murderer into their trap . The latest fashion in murder !. Every nightmare has a beginning...This one never ends !. Brian De Palma, Master of the Macabre, invites you to a showing of the latest fashion... ...in murder !.
This haunting thriller flick is plenty of mystery , intrigue and suspenseful . A highly exploitative and fast-paced suspense/thriller , recognisably from the blood-spattered hands of expert filmmaker Brian De Palma . The film displays a great and catching musical score by Pino Donaggio , De Palma's favorite composer , in Bernard Herrmann style , and imitating former hits , along with appropriate cinematography . There is much for De Palma buffs to savour in this thrilling and atmospheric handling of a complex story with deliberately old-fashioned treatment . A classic in suspense from De Palma , pitching us right into the action from the beginning and baffling most of us to the ending . This is perhaps his most blatant tribute to Hitchcock and especially ¨Psycho¨ , though the master of suspense might shift uneasily in his grave at the flashy sex scenes , the long drawn-out tension , abundant nudism and the four-letter words used for shock effect . There are also tense key images that are brilliantly and originally staged . De Palma was repeatedly criticized for using a stand-by during the Angie Dickinson shower scene , in fact he titled his next movie ¨Body Double¨ as a rebuttal . Angie Dickinson's museum scene is marvellously edited and photographed . Adding special characteristics techniques as ominous camera movements . The mechanics of suspense are worked quite well by the filmmaker and many frighten the easily scared quite adequately , but De Palma has made a habit of dwelling on their more sordid side-shoots .
It contains colorful and evocative cinematography by cameraman Ralf D. Bode , as well as perceptible , impressive musical score by composer Pino Donaggio . Very good and graphically mysterious direction from Brian De Palma . ¨Dressed to kill¨ is Brian De Palma's homage to Hitchcock and the reason for the chief amusement turning out to be inquire what scenes taken from Master of suspense . That's why takes parts especially from Hitchcock . The picture is brilliantly directed by Brian De Palma . This ¨Dresssed to Kill¨ -along with ¨Sisters¨ , ¨Body Double¨, ¨Blow out¨- resulting outwardly another ode to Hitchcock with the accent on the killing , but on most occasion is really thrilling . Rating : 7/10 . Above average, it gets some riveting basic ideas and fascinating images . Nowadays , being a highly considered film ; that's why it is deemed by many to be one of the Brian Palma's best.
