Body Double – Review

Wolves howl at the large setting sun. A vampire stirs in his coffin. The director Rubin (Franz) calls ‘ACTION,’ but Jake Scully (Wasson) freaks out a bit and his fangs freeze, instead of doing the scene. The backdrop then catches on fire. The production has seen better days, and Jake’s claustrophobia is a bitch.

He goes home, and catches his girlfriend Carol in bed with another man. This day is really turning to shit. To the bar heads Jake, despite having quit drinking. This seems like a good day to revive that habit. Hell, he even needs a new place to stay.

Jake meets Sam Bouchard (Henry) while zipping to a casting call in hopes of more work, but he doesn’t feel confident. He hits up an acting class next, and tries to dig into his claustrophobic past and triggering memories. The teacher tries to make him act his way through his fear, while Sam and the other attendees watch. Feel! Personalize! Act!

This all seems like typical Hollywood insanity. Sam decides this is some bullshit and drags Jake outta there. Back to drowning sorrows the men go, but at least this nets Jake a spot to stay for a while. Sam has to take a trip to Seattle, and he is house sitting himself for an out-of-town rich friend in the hills. Jake can take over for a bit since it needs someone staying there. The house looks like a space ship.

An innocuous start leads to the plot kicking in. Jake tries to settle into the lavish house, and adores the view overlooking the city below. The home even has a nice telescope to spy on unsuspecting people below. Sam quickly perves out showing Jake the hot girl grooving in front of her window, wearing very little clothing.

This spying definitely will not lead to any troubles for anyone… right? And it’s definitely not ultra creepy. As Jake continues to invade the girl’s privacy, eventually nefarious actions are witnessed. This leads to dilemmas as what to do, and rising tensions. So far, the real lesson is to close your blinds.

Body Double is a solid, yet sleazy affair, with just enough intrigue to keep it interesting for most of its runtime. It is well executed and the actors do a fine job with the script, but it does dip into the absurd a bit. It definitely has some homages and vibes of other classic films, but stands on its own as an okay Hollywood thriller, even if the story is a tad see-through at times.

Brian De Palma films are hit or miss for me, but this story’s setup keeps this one fresh enough for a watch, despite it losing steam in the second half.