Review: Psychotic transsexual Bobbi murders the patient (Angie Dickinson) of a prominent doctor (Michael Caine) and then pursues the high-priced prostitute (Nancy Allen) who caught a glimpse of Bobbi in the elevator. Liz (Allen) comes under suspicion of the crime and teams up with the patient's son (Keith Gordon) to catch the killer.

It can be summed up in a couple of words: it's very sexy (Dickinson and Allen look great), it's very bloody - with the kind of gore usually reserved for splatter movies, and boy is it well crafted. Writer / director De Palma's script is OK but it really takes a backseat to the man's film-making abilities. It is highly successful on a visceral level and I actually get involved / interested with these characters. I can notice the standard De Palma homages to / ripoffs of Hitchcock - at least from one of the Master's pictures.

And to top it all off, it has a professional and believable cast.

This was De Palma's third movie with ex-wife Nancy Allen (after "Carrie" and "Home Movies".)

By the way, dancer-turned-actress Rachel Ticotin was one of the production assistants. There's a bit of trivia for you.

I wouldn't think a thriller could be classy and bloody at the same time but this picture pulls it off.

One of the best things about it is a typically striking Pino Donaggio music score.

8/10
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