Brian De Palma‘s shocking exploitation gut-punch, Sisters, is a perfectly orchestrated exercise in style, a staging of some of the finest suspense sequences since Alfred Hitchcock was above ground. Channeling the Master of Suspense’s gleeful enjoyment of audience manipulation, De Palma remarkably employs a trashy genre aesthetic to satirically explore issues of race and social alienation. It’s a film about outsiders — a starkly disturbing reminder that looks and appearances can be dangerously deceiving — that’s nevertheless less interested in soap-box statements than inducing audiences to squeal and squirm. Grim in its contemporary relevance, De Palma and co-writer Louisa Rose‘s political satire is ever-present but far from overt, quietly bubbling in the background. This is a film in which police officers respond to learning of the stabbing of an African-American man by hatefully grumbling, “Those people are always stabbing each other.”
The film’s opening scene launches...
The film’s opening scene launches...
- 6/17/2016
- by Tony Hinds
- The Film Stage
Welcome back to another installment of Daily Dead’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide—we’re now on the eighth day and for today’s gifting ideas, we’re turning the spotlight on several great books related to noteworthy horror and sci-fi TV shows. We’re also featuring some amazing indie artists in this edition of the Hgg—Electric Zombie and Velvet Geek—and we’ve also found some pop culture-inspired Clue games that would be perfect to put under the tree this year.
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is being sponsored by Rlj Entertainment and their recent terrifying yuletide release, A Christmas Horror Story. To help you guys get into the spirit of the season, we’ve put together ten amazing prize packs filled with goodies, a T-shirt and your very own copy of A Christmas Horror Story to get you ready for the holiday season.
For a chance to...
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is being sponsored by Rlj Entertainment and their recent terrifying yuletide release, A Christmas Horror Story. To help you guys get into the spirit of the season, we’ve put together ten amazing prize packs filled with goodies, a T-shirt and your very own copy of A Christmas Horror Story to get you ready for the holiday season.
For a chance to...
- 12/3/2015
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Special Mention: Dressed To Kill
Directed by Brian De Palma
Written by Brian De Palma
1980, USA
Genre: Thriller
Brian De Palma’s films, like Tarantino’s, are a cinematic mash-up of influences from the past, and in De Palma case he borrows heavily from Alfred Hitchcock. Obsession is De Palma’s Vertigo, Blow Out his Rear Window, and with Dressed to Kill the director set its sights on Psycho. Dressed To Kill is more thriller than horror but what a stylish and twisted thriller it is! The highlight here is an amazing ten-minute chase sequence set in an art gallery and conducted entirely without dialogue. There are a number of other well-sustained set pieces including a race in the subway system and even, yes, a gratuitous shower murder sequence. Dressed To Kill features an excellent cast (Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Angie Dickinson), a superb score (courtesy of Pino Donaggio) and...
Directed by Brian De Palma
Written by Brian De Palma
1980, USA
Genre: Thriller
Brian De Palma’s films, like Tarantino’s, are a cinematic mash-up of influences from the past, and in De Palma case he borrows heavily from Alfred Hitchcock. Obsession is De Palma’s Vertigo, Blow Out his Rear Window, and with Dressed to Kill the director set its sights on Psycho. Dressed To Kill is more thriller than horror but what a stylish and twisted thriller it is! The highlight here is an amazing ten-minute chase sequence set in an art gallery and conducted entirely without dialogue. There are a number of other well-sustained set pieces including a race in the subway system and even, yes, a gratuitous shower murder sequence. Dressed To Kill features an excellent cast (Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Angie Dickinson), a superb score (courtesy of Pino Donaggio) and...
- 10/25/2015
- by Ricky Fernandes
- SoundOnSight
July 25, 1980. That was the day Dressed to Kill opened in theaters across the country, and it marked the first of countless times I would see the movie projected on a big screen, on a drive-in screen, panned and scanned for home video, even interrupted and cut to ribbons for network TV. But I’ll never forget seeing it that first time, in a cavernous old movie palace in downtown Eugene, Oregon, its lush, complex, violently dynamic and meticulously choreographed images, all set to a Pino Donaggio score which reflected precisely those same qualities, thrilling me to my core. I left that theater buzzing, even if at first I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about the movie-- it took me a few days and another screening or two to decide that the outraged cries of Hitchcock plagiarism coming from some circles were unwarranted. For me, Dressed to Kill is...
- 10/10/2015
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
“Murder In Soft Focus”
By Raymond Benson
Brian De Palma’s crime thriller/horror flick, Dressed to Kill, was a controversial release in 1980 for its depiction of violence against women and its sexual content— nevertheless, it was a successful entry in the director’s oeuvre during the most fruitful period of his long career. The film was released in America with an “R” rating—but only after De Palma, under protest, compromised with the ratings board and agreed to cut some footage, re-edit a couple of sequences, and change some lines of dialogue.
De Palma’s preferred unrated version of the film was released on home video not too long ago, but The Criterion Collection has seen fit to issue a new, 4K digital restoration, supervised by the director, of what might have been an “X”-rated picture back in the day. The results are gorgeous. De Palma’s thrillers...
By Raymond Benson
Brian De Palma’s crime thriller/horror flick, Dressed to Kill, was a controversial release in 1980 for its depiction of violence against women and its sexual content— nevertheless, it was a successful entry in the director’s oeuvre during the most fruitful period of his long career. The film was released in America with an “R” rating—but only after De Palma, under protest, compromised with the ratings board and agreed to cut some footage, re-edit a couple of sequences, and change some lines of dialogue.
De Palma’s preferred unrated version of the film was released on home video not too long ago, but The Criterion Collection has seen fit to issue a new, 4K digital restoration, supervised by the director, of what might have been an “X”-rated picture back in the day. The results are gorgeous. De Palma’s thrillers...
- 9/11/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Criterion beautifully restores Brian De Palma’s early masterpiece, Dressed to Kill, his 1980 title often lumped in with a quartet of other films categorized as Hitchcockian riffs, criticized or celebrated for how they playfully exhume style, narrative and tone from iconic titles. Although it’s nearly impossible to discuss the film without an acknowledgment of its obvious homage, it’s also a strikingly original piece in its own right, one that most easily sidesteps the derivative trappings of the ‘anxiety of influence’ theory thanks to its complex design as a critique on rigid social constructions.
Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) is an unhappily married housewife, saddled with husband number two, a man whose underwhelming lovemaking she describes to therapist Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine) as the root her problems. When her precocious teenage son (Keith Gordon) declines to go on a lunchtime museum trip, Kate goes alone, and becomes involved in a casual tryst with a stranger.
Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) is an unhappily married housewife, saddled with husband number two, a man whose underwhelming lovemaking she describes to therapist Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine) as the root her problems. When her precocious teenage son (Keith Gordon) declines to go on a lunchtime museum trip, Kate goes alone, and becomes involved in a casual tryst with a stranger.
- 9/8/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Fans of David Cronenberg and Brian De Palma are in for a treat this summer and fall, as The Criterion Collection will release the former's The Brood and the latter's Dressed to Kill on respective Blu-rays.
The Criterion Collection will release The Brood on Blu-ray October 13th and Dressed to Kill on Blu-ray August 18th:
From The Criterion Collection: The Brood: "A disturbed woman is receiving a radical form of psychotherapy at a remote, mysterious institute. Meanwhile, her five-year-old daughter, under the care of her estranged husband, is being terrorized by a group of demonic beings. How these two story lines connect is the shocking and grotesque secret of this bloody tale of monstrous parenthood from David Cronenberg, starring Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar. With its combination of psychological and body horror, The Brood laid the groundwork for many of the director’s films to come, but it stands...
The Criterion Collection will release The Brood on Blu-ray October 13th and Dressed to Kill on Blu-ray August 18th:
From The Criterion Collection: The Brood: "A disturbed woman is receiving a radical form of psychotherapy at a remote, mysterious institute. Meanwhile, her five-year-old daughter, under the care of her estranged husband, is being terrorized by a group of demonic beings. How these two story lines connect is the shocking and grotesque secret of this bloody tale of monstrous parenthood from David Cronenberg, starring Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar. With its combination of psychological and body horror, The Brood laid the groundwork for many of the director’s films to come, but it stands...
- 7/22/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The definition of a slasher film varies depending on who you ask, but in general, it contains several specific traits that feed into the genre’s formula. Author Vera Dika rather strictly defines the sub-genre in her book Games of Terror by only including films made between 1978 and 1984. In other words, she saw it as a movement. When someone describes Brick, they don’t define it as a noir, but instead neo-noir . In other words, it’s a modern motion picture that prominently utilizes elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in those from the 1940s and 1950s. So does one consider Scream a slasher film or a neo-slasher, or simply put, a modern slasher?
Some consider Thirteen Women to be the earliest slasher – released all the way back in 1932. Personally I think that is rubbish. Thirteen Women is more like Desperate Housewives on sedatives.
Some consider Thirteen Women to be the earliest slasher – released all the way back in 1932. Personally I think that is rubbish. Thirteen Women is more like Desperate Housewives on sedatives.
- 10/29/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
124: (Tie) Inside (À l’intérieur)
Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury
Written by Alexandre Bustillo
2007, France
Four months after the death of her husband, a pregnant woman is tormented by a strange woman who invades her home with the intent on killing her and taking her unborn baby. This movie is not recommended for women on the brink of motherhood. Inside is one of the most vicious and...
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
124: (Tie) Inside (À l’intérieur)
Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury
Written by Alexandre Bustillo
2007, France
Four months after the death of her husband, a pregnant woman is tormented by a strange woman who invades her home with the intent on killing her and taking her unborn baby. This movie is not recommended for women on the brink of motherhood. Inside is one of the most vicious and...
- 10/5/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.