This film should be celebrated as one of those purely cinematic experiences, which these days are all too few and far between.
Comment
09/26/07
Dressed to Kill (1980)
84 %
Reviews Counted: 37 Fresh: 31 Rotten:6 Average Rating: 6.5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Synopsis: In this film that combines Hitchcock's slick premises with modern-day gore, a lonely wife follows her shrink's advice and seeks comfort in a stranger. After a seductive, dangerous encounter, the wife meets a homicidal maniac. The prostitute who discovers the body and the victim's son must... [More]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Starring: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon
Director: Brian De Palma
Reviews
Top Critic
Ultimately, the film amounts to little more than a consummate study of suspense technique, all dressed up with nowhere to go.
01/26/06
Top Critic
Originality has never been a high value in the genre-bound aesthetic of filmmaking, but De Palma cheapens what he steals.
09/26/07
All dressed up with no script to go, but a feverish nerve jangler nonetheless.
09/26/07
Top Critic
Despite some major structural weaknesses, the cannily manipulated combination of mystery, gore and kinky sex adds up to a slick commercial package.
09/26/07
Top Critic
Inflates paperback pulp psychology into something like a plot, all the better to demonstrate that filmmaking is an inherently visual storytelling.
09/02/06
Brian De Palma is at his Hitchcock-imitating best in this lurid psycho thriller that's an absolute treat from start to finish.
09/28/05
DePalma is not yet an artist of Hitchcock's stature, but he does earn the right to a comparison.
10/23/04
Top Critic
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