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Dressed to Kill

1980 1h 45m
Thriller Mystery Horror
MOVIEVIBE Rating
7.0/10
1,169 reviews
Your Rating
Dressed to Kill

After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.

"The latest fashion in murder."

Top Billed Cast

Nancy Allen
Nancy Allen
Liz Blake
Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Doctor Robert Elliott
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Kate Miller
Keith Gordon
Keith Gordon
Peter Miller
Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz
Detective Marino
David Margulies
David Margulies
Dr. Levy
Ken Baker
Ken Baker
Warren Lockman
Susanna Clemm
Susanna Clemm
Betty Luce

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

J John Chard Verified TMDB Critic
2014-02-14

Erotico Psycho

Dressed to Kill is directed and written by Brian De Palma. It stars Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon and Dennis Franz. Music is by Pino Donaggio and cinematography by Ralf D. Bode.

Brian De Palma continues his commitment to Hitchcock thrillers with this erotic and lurid slice of entertainment pie. Plot in short order finds a razor wielding blonde woman on the loose in the city. A high class prostitute, a psychiatrist and the son of a victim try to solve the mystery before they themselves fall to the blonde killer.

De Palma throws it all at the a...

S slayrrr666 Verified TMDB Critic
2017-03-15

Following a housewife’s brutal murder, the only witness to the incident teams up with the woman’s son to try to find the culprit which leads them to the patient of a psychiatrist who treated her and tries to stop the killer from striking them in order to cover the crime.

This one turned out to be quite the rather enjoyable effort. A lot of the film’s great parts come from the manner in which this one deals with the expectations featured here of the film by following so close to its influences. As it follows so close to the main format here, as the general structure employed here comes...

G GenerationofSwine Verified TMDB Critic
2023-01-14

It is an enjoyable film...but one with several natural endings. And that kind of makes for a fail. You're ready for the movie to be over after it concludes and then you wait until it concludes again, and then you wait until is actually concludes.

However, it is tense, which is a De Palma hallmark, he knows how to make for a tense thriller, and that is where the appeal is, that is what really sets Dressed to Kill above a lot of other films. It plays on the nerves....

W Wuchak Verified TMDB Critic
2023-10-24

**_Sordid Hitchcockian crime thriller set in the heart of the Big Apple_**

A sexually frustrated housewife in Manhattan (Angie Dickinson) does something foolish, which leads to a crime witnessed by an upscale prostitute (Nancy Allen). A therapist (Michael Caine), a detective (Dennis Franz) and a whiz kid (Keith Gordon) help try to solve the case.

Helmed by Brian De Palma, "Dressed to Kill" (1980) is a psychological drama/thriller in the tradition of Hitchcock. You’ll see bits borrowed from “Rear Window,” “North by Northwest,” “Psycho” and De Palma’s own “Carrie.” So...