Brian De Palma has always been a bit of a troublemaker. When the Dressed to Kill film hit theaters back in 1980, it didn't just walk into the cultural conversation—it smashed through the window with a straight razor. People were furious. Critics like Rex Reed called it "trashy," while feminist groups protested outside theaters because of how it portrayed violence against women. But here’s the thing: it’s still one of the most slickly engineered thrillers ever made.
If you watch it today, you'll see a movie that’s basically a fever dream of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. It’s got that same DNA. You’ve got the blonde lead who dies way too early, the mysterious killer in the trench coat, and a shower scene that feels like a direct challenge to the Master of Suspense himself. De Palma wasn't trying to hide his influences. He was flaunting them.
The plot kicks off with Kate Miller, played by Angie Dickinson. She’s a sexually frustrated housewife in Manhattan who has a chance encounter with a stranger at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What follows is a ten-minute sequence with almost zero dialogue. It’s just pure, visual storytelling—looking, following, the thrill of the hunt. It's masterclass filmmaking, honestly. But then, things go south in an elevator, and we’re suddenly following a high-class call girl played by Nancy Allen and Kate's tech-genius son as they try to solve a murder.
The Controversy That Nearly Buried the Film
It’s hard to overstate how much heat this movie took. The 1980s were a turning point for how gender and identity were discussed in media. The Dressed to Kill film found itself right in the crosshairs. Because the killer is portrayed as a "transvestite" (the terminology used in the film at the time), the LGBTQ+ community was rightfully upset about the "psycho trans" trope. It’s a valid criticism. Looking back with 2026 sensibilities, the psychology presented by Michael Caine’s character, Dr. Elliott, feels dated and a bit clunky.
De Palma’s defense was always that he was making a "movie movie." He wasn't trying to make a social statement; he was trying to make your heart rate spike. He used split-screens, slow motion, and Pino Donaggio’s haunting, lush score to create an atmosphere that felt like a nightmare you couldn't wake up from.
💡 You might also like: Not the Nine O'Clock News: Why the Satirical Giant Still Matters
Nancy Allen, who was married to De Palma at the time, actually won a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Liz Blake, but she also got a Razzie nomination. Talk about a polarized reception. That’s the legacy of this movie in a nutshell. It’s brilliant and "sleazy" at the same exact time.
Why Technical Mastery Saves the Day
Let’s talk about the museum scene. If you're a film student or just someone who likes cool shots, you have to watch how De Palma uses the camera here. It’s a predatory camera. It glides. It lingers on the back of Dickinson’s neck. There’s a specific rhythm to the editing that builds tension without a single word being spoken.
- The use of Steadicam was still relatively new and experimental.
- De Palma used split-focus diopters to keep two things in focus at once—one very close and one very far away.
- The lighting in the elevator scene is cold, metallic, and terrifyingly claustrophobic.
Most directors would have used a bunch of quick cuts to show the killer. Not De Palma. He lets the camera hang there. He wants you to see the razor. He wants you to feel the dread.
The Caine Factor
Michael Caine is an absolute pro, obviously. In this movie, he plays a psychiatrist who is dealing with a patient who keeps leaving threatening messages on his answering machine. His performance is restrained, which makes the eventual reveal work so much better. He’s the anchor. Without his grounded presence, the movie might have drifted off into total camp territory. Instead, it stays a taut, psychological thriller.
📖 Related: New Movies in Theatre: What Most People Get Wrong About This Month's Picks
Misconceptions and the "Slasher" Label
A lot of people lump the Dressed to Kill film in with the slasher craze of the early 80s (Friday the 13th came out the same year). That’s a mistake. This isn't a slasher. It’s a giallo.
If you aren't familiar with Italian giallo films from directors like Dario Argento or Mario Bava, they’re basically hyper-stylized mysteries with high-fashion aesthetics and brutal violence. De Palma was essentially bringing the giallo to New York City. The focus isn't on a body count; it's on the voyeurism. It’s about the act of watching and being watched.
Does it hold up?
Yes and no. The pacing is weirdly slow compared to modern TikTok-brain movies, but that’s a good thing. It builds. The ending, particularly the "dream within a dream" sequence, is a bit of a cliché now, but it was genuinely jarring back then.
One thing that definitely holds up is the score. Pino Donaggio’s music is so melodic and beautiful that it almost makes the violence feel operatic. It’s a weird contrast. You're watching something horrific, but the music sounds like a tragic romance.
👉 See also: A Simple Favor Blake Lively: Why Emily Nelson Is Still the Ultimate Screen Mystery
Real-World Impact and Legacy
Modern directors like Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright have cited De Palma as a massive influence. You can see the DNA of this film in movies like Basic Instinct or even Gone Girl. It’s that blend of high-art technique with low-brow subject matter.
If you're going to watch it for the first time, try to find the "Unrated" version. The theatrical cut was butchered by the MPAA to avoid an X rating. De Palma had to trim frames of the razor attacks and the opening shower scene just to get it into theaters. The unrated version restores the timing of the shots, which is crucial for the suspense.
Actionable Takeaways for Film Buffs
If you want to truly appreciate the Dressed to Kill film, don't just watch it as a horror movie. Treat it as a masterclass in visual grammar.
- Watch the Museum Sequence with the Mute Button On: See how much of the story you can understand just through the actors' eyes and the camera movement.
- Compare it to Psycho: Watch the shower scene in Psycho and then the elevator scene in Dressed to Kill. Notice how De Palma uses the "enclosed space" trope to create panic.
- Listen to the Score Individually: Find the soundtrack on Spotify or YouTube. Notice how the "Theme from Dressed to Kill" shifts from romantic to menacing with just a few chord changes.
- Read the Original Reviews: Look up Pauline Kael’s review in The New Yorker. She was one of the few who "got" what De Palma was doing, calling it a "virtuoso piece of movie-making."
The film is currently available on various streaming platforms, but the Criterion Collection 4K restoration is the way to go if you want to see the cinematography in its full, grainy, 1980s glory. It captures the grittiness of New York before it was "cleaned up," providing a backdrop that is just as cold and dangerous as the killer in the movie.
Ultimately, this film isn't for everyone. It’s provocative, it’s dated in its social politics, and it’s unapologetically violent. But as a piece of pure cinema, it remains an essential watch for anyone who wants to see what happens when a director is given a big budget to film his most stylish nightmares.