Runtime: 114 minutes
Directed by: Brian De
Palma
Starring: Craig Wasson,
Gregg Henry, Deborah Shelton, Melanie Griffith, Dennis Franz
From: Columbia
What a wild movie this was:
Someone saw The Slumber Party Massacre before making this.
I say that as the giant drill is the exact same as used in that horror film, De Palma actually made it more obvious a phallic symbol than Amy Holden Jones did back in '82. That is for certain not the only movie that served as inspiration: several Hitchcock classics were “borrowed”, Rear Window and Vertigo being the most obvious.
Jake is a struggling actor who-among other things-discovers that his lady is cheating on him, and as she owns the place... he is SOL until his pal Sam offers the opportunity for him to take over a house-sitting job as Sam has an acting gig of his own; more on that amazing-looking place later. Sam is such a pal that he even points out a neighbor who is an attractive lady that loves dancing around nightly with the drapes open and as there's a telescope... Jake becomes a “peeper”. Unfortunately for Jake and this mysterious lady Gloria, a bizarre-looking man starts stalking her, so our protagonist's bright idea is to... stalk her also. Yeah, that is creepier now than it must have been in the mid 1980's, and that is not the only thing he does concerning her that is abnormal. At least another character does eventually note how bad his behavior is, optics-wise.
That said, this movie is pretty wild all around, and has to be De Palma at his most unfiltered. I know, a bold claim considering that Scarface was 3 hours of total excess, this is sleazy due to how sex and obsession are the main focal points. The adult movie scene even factors in as Melanie Griffith has a supporting role as a popular actress in the field... and this results in the bravura moment where he get in essence an R-rated music video of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax; De Palma always knew that the lyrics are pretty filthy-amazing it became such a huge hit-so it was perfect for this movie.
Amongst all the sleaze and raunchy moments, there were some pretty intense scenes that built suspense pretty well; this is why I can give the movie a high rating, along with Jake being a figure I did not mind following despite some of his questionable behavior.
This was viewed on Blu-ray but not the Twilight Time release, as that was deliberately made to be a limited release and good luck finding that for cheap. Instead it was the UK release by Indicator which thankfully is region-free. The picture does look tremendous... although to me it made a key plot point kind of obvious which helped me figure out part of the grand scheme. I did love looking at the one of the kind octagonal designed house known as Chemosphere, which is an actual house in Los Angeles that is an architectural marvel. At least in the movie, the interior looked hilariously 1980's, as if unexpectedly you'd spot a giant pile of coke on a dresser or by the telephone; like the movie itself, it is wonderfully stylish.
I say that as the giant drill is the exact same as used in that horror film, De Palma actually made it more obvious a phallic symbol than Amy Holden Jones did back in '82. That is for certain not the only movie that served as inspiration: several Hitchcock classics were “borrowed”, Rear Window and Vertigo being the most obvious.
Jake is a struggling actor who-among other things-discovers that his lady is cheating on him, and as she owns the place... he is SOL until his pal Sam offers the opportunity for him to take over a house-sitting job as Sam has an acting gig of his own; more on that amazing-looking place later. Sam is such a pal that he even points out a neighbor who is an attractive lady that loves dancing around nightly with the drapes open and as there's a telescope... Jake becomes a “peeper”. Unfortunately for Jake and this mysterious lady Gloria, a bizarre-looking man starts stalking her, so our protagonist's bright idea is to... stalk her also. Yeah, that is creepier now than it must have been in the mid 1980's, and that is not the only thing he does concerning her that is abnormal. At least another character does eventually note how bad his behavior is, optics-wise.
That said, this movie is pretty wild all around, and has to be De Palma at his most unfiltered. I know, a bold claim considering that Scarface was 3 hours of total excess, this is sleazy due to how sex and obsession are the main focal points. The adult movie scene even factors in as Melanie Griffith has a supporting role as a popular actress in the field... and this results in the bravura moment where he get in essence an R-rated music video of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax; De Palma always knew that the lyrics are pretty filthy-amazing it became such a huge hit-so it was perfect for this movie.
Amongst all the sleaze and raunchy moments, there were some pretty intense scenes that built suspense pretty well; this is why I can give the movie a high rating, along with Jake being a figure I did not mind following despite some of his questionable behavior.
This was viewed on Blu-ray but not the Twilight Time release, as that was deliberately made to be a limited release and good luck finding that for cheap. Instead it was the UK release by Indicator which thankfully is region-free. The picture does look tremendous... although to me it made a key plot point kind of obvious which helped me figure out part of the grand scheme. I did love looking at the one of the kind octagonal designed house known as Chemosphere, which is an actual house in Los Angeles that is an architectural marvel. At least in the movie, the interior looked hilariously 1980's, as if unexpectedly you'd spot a giant pile of coke on a dresser or by the telephone; like the movie itself, it is wonderfully stylish.
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