Dressed to Kill (1980): A Bloody Mess, or Bloody Brilliant? | Part Two (American Giallo)

In Part 2 of Morally Offensive’s American Giallo deep dive into Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill (1980), Bill, Jess, and Ava Davis dig into the film’s cast, production, infamous shower sequence, and the choices that continue to make this one of De Palma’s most controversial films.

The discussion gets into the controversial use of Victoria Lynn Johnson as Angie Dickinson’s body double in the shower scene, the making of the film, and De Palma’s decision to double down on Dressed to Kill’s (what we would now call) transgender themes. The episode also takes a closer look at the film’s technical achievements, from De Palma’s elaborate visual language and Hitchcockian set pieces to Pino Donaggio’s extraordinary score. Bill makes the case for the film’s formal and technical brilliance, while Jess and Ava argue that its troubling representation of transgender identity and uneven filmmaking make Dressed to Kill increasingly difficult to defend. It’s a conversation about whether technical mastery can survive morally offensive choices, and whether Dressed to Kill is a great American Giallo, a deeply flawed thriller, or possibly both at the same time?