Overview
A voyeuristic journey spirals into a deadly obsession as one man's curiosity leads him into a web of crime.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- sleazy
- provocative
- darkly comic
- late night thriller viewing
- halloween movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly admired the film’s visual bravura, performances, and darkly comic Hitchcockian suspense while remaining divided over its derivative plot and provocative sexual violence.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jake repeatedly watches his neighbor through a telescope before becoming entangled in a murder connected to that act of looking.
Jake works in a vampire B-movie and his acting career becomes intertwined with the mystery's staged and performed identities.
The Los Angeles setting, sexualized menace, criminal deception, and deliberately provocative tone place the film firmly in an erotic neo-noir register.
The film uses tracking, swirling, crane, and zoom movements to make looking itself feel seductive, comic, and threatening.
Films like Body Double, and why
Dressed to Kill
shared erotic thriller framework, voyeuristic suspense, and Hitchcockian mystery mechanics
Vertigo
shared psychological suspense, obsessive looking, and elaborate visual set pieces in the Hitchcock tradition
Sliver
shared neo-noir atmosphere, voyeurism, sexual danger, and a protagonist drawn into murder
Movie Details
- Director
- Brian De Palma
- Release Date
- 1984-10-25
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (963)
Cast
- Craig Wasson
- Melanie Griffith
- Gregg Henry
- Deborah Shelton
- Guy Boyd
- Dennis Franz
- David Haskell
- Rebecca Stanley
- Al Israel
- Douglas Warhit
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Body Double about?
- An unemployed actor’s voyeuristic fascination with a Los Angeles neighbor spirals into a flamboyant murder mystery that weaponizes cinematic looking.
- What is Body Double like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Body Double as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Body Double violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Body Double as graphic.
- What did critics think of Body Double?
- Critics broadly admired the film’s visual bravura, performances, and darkly comic Hitchcockian suspense while remaining divided over its derivative plot and provocative sexual violence.
- Which films are like Body Double?
- Films with a similar feel include Dressed to Kill, Vertigo, and Sliver.
- How long is Body Double?
- Body Double runs 114 minutes.
- Where can I watch Body Double?
- In United States, Body Double is available to rent or buy from Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
