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| DIRECTED BY |
| Brian De Palma |
| STARRING |
| Angie Dickinson |
| Nancy Allen |
| Michael Caine |
| Dennis Franz |
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It may have even worked had it not ultimately been so laughable. Brian De Palma�s technical prowess has always been interesting to watch, and �Dressed to Kill� will not displease fans who're looking to simply marvel at the director�s mastery of cinematic mechanics. Comparisons to Hitchcock have been done to death when it comes to De Palma�s work, but they�re also called-for. I wasn�t expecting this film to be so obviously similar to Hitchcock�s �Vertigo� and �Psycho,� but it really is. The major difference between Hitchcock�s work and this particular De Palma film, however, is that a Hitchcock film usually doesn�t evoke laughter when it�s actually going for thrilling suspense.
Great thought was clearly put into the stylization of this film, as most clearly evidenced in the first murder scene on the elevator in which the shemale killer hacks up our would-be leading lady. De Palma quickly cuts between slanted-angle shots of nearly every corner of the elevator�s interior, and in a particularly creative technique � we see the murder take place through a reflection in the elevator�s circular mirror. These stylizations are great fun to watch: De Palma's trademark split screens and 'stalking' cameras are employed here as well, but what we�re actually watching isn�t particularly commendable as far as a narrative film goes.
The soundtrack/score is often unbearably obtrusive, but the performances really aren�t as bad as what I initially expected them to be before I began to watch. However, it doesn�t take long to realize that De Palma actually expects us to take the laughable psychological elements of his script seriously, and - even though I honestly did try - it was simply impossible for me to do that.
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