Dressed to Kill

Dir: Brian De Palma

1980

**

The problem I have with Dressed to Kill and with many of director Brian De Palma's films, is that I'm never too sure whether they are meant to be taken seriously or not. Dressed to Kill has been described as an exercise in style, rather that narrative but can't get behind that way of thinking. If you want style and a good story, with genuine thrills and a little bit of camp horror then why not watch a classic Giallo like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Cat o' Nine Tails or just watch an Alfred Hitchcock - one of the later ones of his career if you have to. When Alfred Hitchcock was told that Brian De Palma intended Dressed to Kill as an homage to his movies, he responded “You mean fromage.” You can see why he would have been more insulted than flattered. Dressed to Kill looks and feels like a spoof of a Hitchcock film, it's impossible to take seriously and in all honesty, it doesn't even look that stylish. It's trash. Now, I like a bit of trash now and again, just as long as it know exactly what it is. De Palma has made some of the best thriller/horrors of all time but he has also made some of the worst, it's hard to really understand where he is coming from, whether he's been generally lucky or genuinely unlucky. There were a couple of great scenes worthy of an Argento classic, they are let down by the nonsense that generally follows but they're still there and they are worthy. Angie Dickinson is pure ham-sandwich, intentionally so but too thick for my blood. Michael Caine doesn't really have that much to work with, it's hard to say whether he was well cast or not as pretty much anyone could have played the part. Nancy Allen (Brian De Palma then wife) adds a much needed spark to the story after the rather samey first chapter, I feel she was somewhat forced into certain scenes against her will (she has said as much since) that I didn't like but she is definitely the best thing about the story. I saw the ridiculous conclusion from a mile away, it has dated horribly and even in 1980 the idea was not of the best tastes. I hate it when Hollywood gets psychology wrong, it's almost offensive now looking back at it. I don't consider the film the macabre masterpiece it is considered to be by the hardcore De Palma fans, indeed I find it laughable. If that's what you want and if that's what you love then I can see why you'd consider it a great film, but the reality is that it takes itself far too seriously when it is in fact utterly ridiculous. The structure of the film is also incredibly similar to his other films, Dressed to Kill's structure being almost identical to his 1980 classic Carrie. I get the appeal but it's not for me and I don't think its a film you can sit on the fence with, it has its moments but on the whole I found it pretty charmless.