2. Dressed to Kill (1980)
Brian De Palma couldn't even wait four years after Obsession before tackling his next Hitchcock rip-off homage, Dressed To Kill. After returning from visiting her psychologist (Michael Caine), a sexually frustrated housewife (Angie Dickinson) is brutally murdered, with the only witness being a young prostitute (Nancy Allen) who soon finds herself next in line. Like De Palma's Obsession, Dressed to Kill is more of an exercise of melodramatic style than that of a fully comprehensive narrative. This serves as the director's own version of Psycho - both containing themes of transvestism, similar murder sequences, Macguffins aplenty and the bumping off of your lead character within the first quarter. However, De Palma gives the Psycho tale a more contemporary update - heightening the sex, violence and twists. Rip-off or homage? Does it really matter? Dressed to Kill is a gripping, well-made watch regardless. Enthusiasts of De Palma's Hitchcockian features should also check out Blow Out, Body Double and Raising Cain.