Naive young Karen wants to help her struggling amateur filmmaker boyfriend Christopher raise enough money so he can divorce his wife. Meanwhile, jolly psycho-prankster Otto stalks the building where Christopher is shooting a low-grade adult movie in order to keep himself afloat.
Directed by Brian De Palma
movie business
murder
IMDB
N/A
Cast
William Finley
Otto
Jared Martin
Chris
Jennifer Salt
A Bird
Phil Proctor
Soap Opera voice
Crew
Brian De Palma
Director
Brian De Palma
Writer
Brian De Palma
Editor
Popular Reviews
13 reviews
Jonathan
2.0★ · 02/06/26
this was a rough sit. i appreciate the ambition and early de palma experimentation, but it mostly feels unfocused and amateurish. the style is there in flashes, yet the story and pacing are a slog.
this was a rough sit. i appreciate the ambition and early de palma experimentation, but it mostly feels unfocused and amateurish. the style is there in flashes, yet the story and pacing are a slog.
Andrew Warren
5.0★ · 01/13/26
An interesting experimental directorial debut from one of my all time favorite directors, Brian De Palma. I saw this was on my Criterion 4k release of Blow Out and decided to check it out, and it was a trip. Definitely a De Palma product, with its violence and voyeurism. There’s many scenes reminiscent of shots in his other films, but the story and the way this was shot felt like De Palma was very much influenced by Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom, which is a thriller I absolutely recommend.
While there’s a lot more to dislike in this film, there’s one very well done suspenseful scene, that reminded me of the stalking scene in De Palma’s Body Double. But the weird quirkiness of the character, Otto (William Finley), mixed with the music and its slapstick comedy, it took away from the fact that this is supposed to be a hidden killer thriller. I wouldn’t really recommend watching this film unless you’re a big fan of De Palma’s work and want to finish his filmography.
An interesting experimental directorial debut from one of my all time favorite directors, Brian De Palma. I saw this was on my Criterion 4k release of Blow Out and decided to check it out, and it was a trip. Definitely a De Palma product, with its violence and voyeurism. There’s many scenes reminiscent of shots in his other films, but the story and the way this was shot felt like De Palma was very much influenced by Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom, which is a thriller I absolutely recommend.
While there’s a lot more to dislike in this film, there’s one very well done suspenseful scene, that reminded me of the stalking scene in De Palma’s Body Double. But the weird quirkiness of the character, Otto (William Finley), mixed with the music and its slapstick comedy, it took away from the fact that this is supposed to be a hidden killer thriller. I wouldn’t really recommend watching this film unless you’re a big fan of De Palma’s work and want to finish his filmography.
This begins the longest director binge I’ve ever done, with 26 movies. For a first feature this is nothing outstanding. It carries lots of eleemnts that are present in later de Palma works like voyuerism. Excited to see where his career goes
This begins the longest director binge I’ve ever done, with 26 movies. For a first feature this is nothing outstanding. It carries lots of eleemnts that are present in later de Palma works like voyuerism. Excited to see where his career goes
PeachSprite
2.6★ · 11/16/21
I think this ones also not for me. definitely not. the theme song is pretty good and its catchy but that was like most of where I got my enjoyment from. the rest of the film was pretty boring imo.
I think this ones also not for me. definitely not. the theme song is pretty good and its catchy but that was like most of where I got my enjoyment from. the rest of the film was pretty boring imo.
