In my earlier post, I covered Brian De Palma’s tribute to a movie made by his idol, Hitchcock. Today, we will see his tribute to not one, but three other Hitchcock movies: Psycho, Rear Window, and Vertigo.

Body Double is a forgotten classic from De Palma that packs a great plot and his signature twists. The movie did not have big stars for its time. Melanie Griffith, perhaps the most recognizable actor in the film, was just beginning to rise in her career.

The protagonist, Craig Wasson, bears a strong resemblance to HBO’s Bill Maher. This is one of my favorite movies. I will forewarn you that my commentary on the plot is long as there is much that needs to be unpacked.

When the titles roll, the movie gives us a feel for the B horror movies of the 80s. In the absence of technology and digital special effects, not to mention the budget to afford good technicians, B movie producers had sleazy sets and horrid makeup to make their characters fearful, but more often those characters end up looking ridiculous and hilarious. As the titles roll, the viewer realizes that she is watching the making of such a movie.

De Palma sees himself as a master of illusion. Many of his movies bend the lines between reality and illusion. In Dressed to Kill, he begins right from the first scene. We are looking at a wilderness scene in the first moment. The very next instant, we realize that the wilderness we just saw is actually the fake backdrop of the set. De Palma thus sets the tone, almost warning the viewer that there is more to come.

The plot begins with a B movie actor, Jake Scully (Craig Wasson), hitting a low point in his career and life. While in the process of playing a vampire in a movie, Scully suffers from claustrophobia and almost passes out. Did someone think of Hitchcock’s Vertigo? The unforgiving director of the movie (Dennis Franz) relieves him of his role.

Still smiling, he returns home to catch his girlfriend cheating on him. A devastated Jake leaves her place without a word (or any luggage). He visits his regular waterhole to drown his sorrows. A kind bartender offers him a place to stay.

While auditioning for another role, a friend introduces him to a man named Sam Bouchard (Gregg Henry). Shortly later, Jake attends a method acting class and runs into Sam again. The teacher of the class berates Jake when he reveals to the class that he suffers from claustrophobia because of a painful childhood incident.

Sam stands up to the teacher, pulls Jake out of the class, and the two end up striking a friendship at a bar. Sam tells Jake that as a rich friend of his is out of town, he, Jake, can stay at the friend’s place for a few weeks. Jake’s only responsibility is to water the plants. Jake readily accepts.

Sam takes Jake to a modern apartment atop a pillar of concrete that looks more like a spaceship than an apartment, with top-notch amenities, a panoramic view, and a bar.

This is where De Palma ‘throws’ in another homage to Hitchcock. One repeating theme in many Hitchcock movies is voyeurism. De Palma channels his inner Hitchcock with a tribute to Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’.

In the apartment, Sam shows Jake a telescope positioned to have a clear view of the window of an apartment in a nearby high rise. As Jake takes a peek, he sees a woman dancing provocatively by herself. Sam tells Jake that she does the same performance every night.

Sam bids farewell, leaving Jake by himself at the apartment. Jake continues to watch the enigmatic woman. Soon, a man with a hat and a suit enters the apartment. He seems to be abusing the woman. After slapping her a few times, he abruptly leaves, leaving the woman crying hysterically.

Jake continues his voyeurism and then notices a Native American man with a disfigured face also watching the woman from a rooftop. Jake becomes more and more obsessed with her.

The next day, he parks outside the woman’s apartment, waiting for her. Sure enough, the woman (Deborah Shelton) drives out, and Jake notices that he is not the only one waiting for her. Parked nearby is an SUV, and from it, the Native American is looking at her.

As she drives away, the Native American follows her. Jake catches up with her as she drives to a shopping mall and parks her car. She makes a call from a public phone at the mall (hey, it’s the 80s). Jake eavesdrops and learns that she is arranging to meet someone.

This scene features another of De Palma’s signature themes: a scene with almost no dialogue, just background music and scintillating visuals. Jake follows her across the mall, passing luxury stores, escalators, and finally arriving at a beautiful seaside motel. She relaxes momentarily and goes to the beach, disappointed that whoever she called has stood her up.

Jake accosts her and tries to warn her that she is being followed. Suddenly, the Native American is seen, rushing towards her, tearing off her handbag. Jake follows the Native American into a tunnel but collapses with another attack of claustrophobia. The Native American drops the bag and all its contents, after taking something from it, and escapes the scene.

Jake finds an ID bearing the woman’s name, Gloria Revelle. Gloria finds Jake in the tunnel. As Jake returns her bag, she assists him, and the two share an intimate kiss. Abruptly, she stops and pushes him away, fleeing the scene.

That night, Jake watches Gloria again through the telescope, but this time he sees the Native American enter her building and make his way up to her apartment. Jake can only watch helplessly in horror. Once again, there is the ingenious cinematography De Palma is known for, as the camera moves from long shots of the building, showing activity on its floors, then focuses on motion across the windows of the building’s apartments, through the blinds, and sometimes through shadows across drapes.

The Native American enters Gloria’s apartment and begins to garotte her. This is De Palma’s nod to Hitchcock’s classic ‘Frenzy’. In desperation, Jake storms towards the building, taking along some passersby with him in a last-ditch effort to save Gloria.

Gloria seems to momentarily break free of her attacker, but the attacker still manages to murder her in the most grizzly fashion. Scully is questioned by a police officer who understandably calls him a pervert, but he is released as the passersby confirm his alibi.

In the following scene, Jake is watching a pornographic movie at the luxurious apartment when he notices a porn star, Holly (Melanie Griffith), perform the same sensuous moves that Gloria was seen performing each night. Jake immediately goes to a video store and rents the movie (Yes, it’s still the 80s). Once again, he watches Holly dance.

Jake tracks down the studio where Holly works and goes there under the pretext of auditioning for one of its movies. Jake suddenly finds himself participating in a music video featuring the song “Relax” by “Frankie goes to Holllywood”. This is one of the landmark scenes from the movie.

Jake meets Holly. He takes her to the scene of the crime, just as in Vertigo. Is Holly somehow involved in Deborah’s murder? The rest of the plot is about how Jake solves the mystery of Gloria’s murder. Soon Jake will discover that he is just a pawn in a vicious, diabolical plot. Will it be too late?

Body Double borrows its plot and many of its themes heavily from two Hitchcock classics, Rear Window and Vertigo. There are also allusions to Frenzy and Psycho. The plot does have loopholes that I will not mention as it may diminish the surprise element.

However, the movie showcases De Palma’s direction at its best and includes most of his Easter eggs. It has gratuitous qualities of sex

, gore, and sleaze, but all are relevant in the context of the movie’s storyline. In many places, the plot blurs the lines among illusion, movie sets, and reality.

This movie is a throwback to the 80s with video stores, landlines, and remote handsets. The soundtrack features numerous 80s songs, including “Relax” mentioned earlier. I was reminded of many B-grade Hindi Horror movies with sub-class makeup and special effects made by the Ramsay brothers in the 80s. The movie takes us on a trip to LA’s locales like its exquisite malls and scenic places, high-rise and beachfront apartments, and hotels.

Great performances from all its lead actors and a great plot make it one of the best of De Palma’s movies. It is a riveting movie from start to end.