A SEDUCTION. A MYSTERY. A MURDER. 

Unemployed actor Jake Scully (Craig Wasson) agrees to house-sit an apartment and becomes fascinated by his sexy neighbor who puts on a show every night… but Jake learns that she’s in danger.

This is guilty pleasure if there ever was one. Brian De Palma more or less stole whole sections from Rear Window and Vertigo, which badly hurts the elements of surprise in this film (there’s a key plot point that seems pretty obvious from the start).

Still, Pino Donaggio’s music, the kinky use of sex and violence and to some extent the acting (Melanie Griffith got her breakthrough) make it fast-paced, fun entertainment. 

1984-U.S. 109 min. Color. Produced and directed by Brian De Palma. Screenplay: Brian De Palma, Robert J. Avrech. Music: Pino Donaggio. Cast: Craig Wasson (Jake Scully), Gregg Henry (Sam Bouchard), Melanie Griffith (Holly Body), Deborah Shelton, Guy Boyd, Dennis Franz.

Trivia: Linda Hamilton, Carrie Fisher and Jamie Lee Curtis were considered for Griffith’s role. Frankie Goes to Hollywood appears as a club band. Remade in India in 1993.