Body Double

Struggling actor and claustrophobe Jake Scully becomes entranced by a mysterious neighbor’s nightly striptease, until one evening he witnesses her murder. As curiosity crosses the line into obsession, Jake chases a killer through the dark underbelly of 1980s Hollywood. In Body Double, De Palma reckons with frequent critical perception of his work as exploitative or voyeuristic, investigating the psychological underpinnings of masculine impotence and desire. Cinematographer Stephen H. Burum creates a number of disorienting magic tricks to reflect Jake’s descent into the deep—including a famous five-minute tracking shot through a Los Angeles shopping plaza. Fantasy and reality do not just co-exist, but grind against one another until they melt into one stunningly nightmarish pool of Rear Window-tinted neon sleaze.