Body Double - Brian De Palma - 1984

★★★-Body Double. An old favorite from 1984, a real banner year for trash films, aka my brand. Love a neo-noir. I was a Brian De Palma super fan, but fear I've outgrown him. Didn't quite like it as much as I did as a younger person. Last saw it around 20 years ago. 

Gist is one Jake Scully (played by Bill Maher lookalike Craig Wasson) is an out-of-work actor who is going through a rough patch in his life after catching his girlfriend cheating on him. However, things turn around when he moves into a new apartment sublet by a new actor buddy (played by Gregg Henry whose still around, most notably playing Peter Quill's [aka Star-Lord] grandfather in the Guardians of the Galaxy flicks) and becomes obsessed with a beautiful woman (played by Deborah Shelton, whom I've not seen in anything else) who does nightly sexy dancing from the window of her nearby home. While creeping on her, he sees another uglier creep and grows concerned, eventually witnessing the woman's murder. Which is all to say that main creep dude becomes entangled in a web of deceit and danger as he investigates the murder and attempts to protect the woman he has been spying on. You know, typical thriller stuff. Along the way, he meets a pornographic actress named Holly Body (Melanie Griffith) who helps him in his investigation after figuring out she was involved. 

The flick is known for its stylish direction, suspenseful plot, and references to other films, particularly Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window and Vertigo. It was apparently controversial at the time of its release due to its explicit content which involves the porn industry, however, the peeping stuff is more unsettling these days.

Overall, Body Double is a tense and visually stunning thriller that showcases De Palma's distinctive style and flair for suspense. However, the plot is ludicrous and features extra sleaze. The last 20 minutes are comically outrageous. It's not nearly as great as I remembered. 

Quick shoutout to Barbara Crampton. She's one of my faves. You might remember from various Stuart Gordon movies like Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Castlefreak. Also the Ti West movie You're Next. 

This is her big screen debut. She's naked for the entirety of her performance. Also, Dennis Franz from NYPD Blue plays a bit part. He's an asshole B-movie director.