Dressed to Kill (1980)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A prostitute who witnesses the brutal murder of a housewife becomes the killer's next target while attempting to solve the crime.
The story
Sexually frustrated housewife Kate Miller attends therapy with psychiatrist Dr. Robert Elliott, who rejects her advances. After spending the day alone at a museum, she flirts with a mysterious stranger, Warren Lockman, and they spend the night together. While leaving his apartment, Kate returns for her wedding ring and is violently murdered in an elevator by a woman wielding a straight razor. Liz Blake, a high-priced call girl, witnesses the crime in a convex mirror and becomes the primary suspect. Liz partners with the victim's son, Peter, to use his surveillance equipment to track the killer.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Kate Miller, a housewife, seeks attention from her psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Elliott. After a night with a stranger named Warren Lockman, she is murdered in an elevator by a woman with a razor. Liz Blake, a call girl who saw the murder, teams up with Kate's son, Peter, to find the killer. They use Peter's surveillance gear to monitor Elliott's patients and eventually identify a transgender patient named Bobbi. A blonde woman begins stalking Liz, and Peter manages to spray Bobbi with Mace in the subway. Liz baits Elliott into a confrontation, where it is revealed that the 'blonde' killer is actually Elliott himself, who has developed a murderous female persona, Bobbi, due to his internal conflict over his gender identity. A police officer, Betty Luce, intervenes and shoots Bobbi. Elliott is committed to an asylum but escapes, strangles a nurse, and slashes Liz's throat. She wakes up to find Peter by her side, realizing the attack was a nightmare.
- First release year
- 1980
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Brian De Palma
- Writers
- Brian De Palma · writer
- Cast and characters
- Michael Caine · Robert Elliott; Angie Dickinson · Kate Miller; Nancy Allen · Liz Blake; Keith Gordon · Peter Miller; Dennis Franz · Detective Marino; Susanna Clemm · Bobbi/policewoman; Betty Luce · female police officer
- Genres
- thriller; slasher; psychological horror; suspense comedy
- Themes
- duality; identity; voyeurism
- Tone and mood
- sensual; erotic; disturbing; fever pitch
- Premise and plot tags
- thriller; slasher; psychological horror; suspense comedy; erotic thriller; mystery; neo-noir
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film polarized critics, but has since gained a cult following. It was a box office success in the United States, grossing over $31 million against a production budget of $6.5 million.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 83% · scale: fresh · review count: 60; Metacritic · score: 74 · scale: 100 · review count: 16
- Production trivia
- De Palma claimed to get the idea for the murderer from watching a transsexual on The Phil Donahue Show.; The naked body in the opening scene was that of 1977 Penthouse Pet of the Year model Victoria Lynn Johnson.; De Palma has referred to the elevator killing as the best murder scene he has ever done.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…