BLOODY DISGUSTING COLUMNIST LOOKS AT DE PALMA'S "SELF-AWARE META COMMENTARY" BODY DOUBLE
Last week, Bloody Disgusting's Joe Lipsett posted an editorial/"Sex Crimes" column headlined, "The Self-Aware Meta Commentary in Brian De Palma’s Body Double" -
As we’ve discussed in previous entries, Erotic Thrillers owe a great deal to Film Noir, which – thanks to the Hays Code – tended to end by reinforcing a morally black and white view of the world. Body Double refuses this script: not only does Holly disapprove of being forced into Jake’s crusade and nearly being buried alive, but the pair don’t wind up together. And while the end of the film confirms that Jake has overcome his claustrophobia and returned to work, the final scene plays like it is gently mocking Jake’s B-movie role as a pervy vampire who is still working with body doubles.In this way, Body Double works both as a great Erotic Thriller, and as self-aware meta commentary by De Palma about the subgenre and his own reputation within it. That’s pretty clever.
