History Film / BodyDouble

* BuxomIsBetter: The BodyDouble has [[{{Fanservice}} noticeably bigger breasts]] than the actress she's subbing in for, prompting Holly to note the latter will be getting far more dates when the film is released.

His investigations leads to a murder mystery, which brings him smack-dab into the adult-film industry, encountering a porn star (Griffith) who may or may not provide a key clue as to what's going on.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: A real movie called ''Film/VampiresKiss'', starring Nicolas Cage, would be released five years after the release of ''Body Double'', albeit nothing like the FilmWithinAFilm shown here.

* {{Fanservice}}: Gloria, especially when [[spoiler: she and Scully make out.]] Holly is most definitely a MsFanservice--but then, being a porn star, it comes with the job description.

* WhatTheHellHero: Detective [=McLean=] tells Jake Scully in no uncertain terms that he holds him responsible for Gloria Revelle's death.
--->'''Det. Jim [=McLean=]''': As far as I'm concerned, you're the real reason Gloria Revelle got murdered. If you hadn't have been so busy getting off by peeping on her, if you'd have called the police about the Indian, Gloria Revelle would still be alive.

--->'''Det. Jim McLean''': As far as I'm concerned, you're the real reason Gloria Revelle got murdered. If you hadn't have been so busy getting off by peeping on her, if you'd have called the police about the Indian, Gloria Revelle would still be alive.

** [[spoiler: Sam had hired porn starlet Holly Body for several nights to pose as his wife in their bedroom, while Jack develops an infatuation with her.]]

** Likewise, the opening scene establishes Jack Scully's claustrophobia while playing a vampire in a coffin. By the end, [[spoiler: Jack must face this fear while Sam attempts to bury him and Holly in a shallow grave]].

* {{Claustrophobia}}: Jack Scully's defining character flaw/"weakness" for himself to finally overcome by the end of the film. Jack freezes up whenever in small or enclosed spaces, like in a coffin on a movie shoot or in a tunnel.

* FilmWithinAFilm: The film opens with Jack Scully filming a scene inside a casket for a horror movie called ''Vampire's Kiss'', establishing his claustrophobia. He is subsequently fired from the film and his part recast because of this, [[spoiler: but wins back the role by the end of the story]].
* ForWantOfANail: [[spoiler: If Detective [=MacLean=] had just shown Scully a photo of Gloria Revelle's husband - his chief suspect - Scully would have instantly identified him as the man who asked him to house-sit... and pointed out exactly how to spy on his neighbor, without mentioning that said neighbor was his wife. At the very least, it would have been rather suspicious. Alternatively, had Jack simply phoned the police at the outset of the "break-in," instead of running down the hillside to try and play hero, cops could have arrived earlier and prevented the murder altogether; Det. [=MacLean=] still finds Jack at fault for the murder, in part, for this very reason.]]

* ThePeepingTom: Jack becomes infatuated with Gloria, after Sam show him the telescope inside the ultramodern Chemosphere.

* BodyDouble: Well, ''DUH!''

* BiggusDickus: "I'm not just some stunt cock!"

Famous for 1) its constant homage to Creator/AlfredHitchcock (particularly ''Film/RearWindow'' and ''Film/{{Vertigo}}''); 2) its show-stopping sequence featuring "Relax" by Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood (which was a major hit but banned in the UK, and this film was the only way some audiences got to ''hear'' it); and 3) its ''intense'' invocation of {{Fanservice}}.

* OutOfJobIntoThePlot: The director firing Jake from the Z-grade vampire movie (but not quite having the stomach to tell him outright) leads to the HomeEarlySurprise, Sam's too-good-to-be-true offer of a nice place to stay, and the rest of the plot. [[spoiler: Jake's renewed confidence gets him rehired on the movie by the end.]]

* {{Bookends}}: In the beginning of the movie, [[spoiler: Scully finds himself unable to act in a horror flick due to his claustrophobia.]] In the end, [[spoiler: he's back in the film, and performs beautifully.]]

* FrameUp: an interesting variant. Scully isn't being set up as the murderer, he's [[spoiler: being set up as the eye witness to the murder, in order to clear the killer.]]

* IdiotBall: for some reason, it ''never'' occurs to Scully, [[spoiler: who is a ''professional actor'', that Gloria's distinctive stalker might be wearing 'movie' makeup to look that way, until the very end.]]
* {{Irony}}: meta-wise. Melanie Griffith played Holly Body ''without'' a body double - every scene where Holly is topless, that's really her. Right from the start, [=DePalma=] made it one of the conditions of being cast in that role[[note]] one of the reasons he originally wanted to cast a real life porn star as Holly, but the studio wouldn't agree[[/note]], as he felt it was an important part of the character. Griffith has stated that [=DePalma=] made every effort to ensure her comfort (both physically and mentally) before and during shooting, including several long conversations about what she was comfortable doing.

* TheStinger: sort of. Over the ending credits, you see Scully shooting another scene in his SoBadItsGood vampire movie.[[spoiler: In particular, Scully having to hold very still while the lead actress is swapped out for a body double.]] Brian [=DePalma=] said in the Behind the Scene documentary (you can find it on the DVD) that this was one of his favorite scenes that he filmed. He originally wanted to use it as the opening, but he thought it was too big a clue to TheReveal.

* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Holly had no clue her erotic dance routine was part of an elaborate murder plot.]]

An actor named Jake Scully (Wasson) is struggling with claustrophobia (which cost him his most recent job in a horror flick)--and has found out his girlfriend is cheating on him. Left without a place to stay, Scully accepts a job as a house-sitter for a futuristic house with a 360 view of the high-class area of Hollywood. The best of it: a neighbor has a tendency to striptease in her room, visible for an eager voyeur. All well and good...until Scully notices that he isn't the only one watching.

* Claustrophobia: Jack Scully's defining character flaw/"weakness" for himself to finally overcome by the end of the film. Jack freezes up whenever in small or enclosed spaces, like in a coffin on a movie shoot or in a tunnel.

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Holly was the "body double" of Gloria--and ''she'' was the one dancing every night.]]

* PoliceAreUseless: But then, Jake's a bit of a hypocrite, which completely ruins the credibility of his account to them....

* SpiritualSuccessor: Arguably even more so than ''any'' other film of De Palma's (even ''Film/DressedToKill''), this film is a blatant {{Homage}} to the style and subject matter of Creator/AlfredHitchcock. In particular, this film borrows heavily from ''Film/RearWindow'' (Scully's voyeuristic activities while house-sitting) and ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' ([[spoiler: greedy husband using his acquintance in order to set him up as a perfect witness for the murder of his wife]], Scully's phobia getting him in trouble and his obsessive-yet-protective desire for Gloria--and [[spoiler: guilt over her death]]--leading him to investigate another woman, Holly, [[spoiler: to find a possible connection]]).

* ForWantOfANail: [[spoiler: If Detective [=MacLean=] had just shown Scully a photo of Gloria Revelle's husband - his chief suspect - Scully would have instantly identified him as the man who asked him to house-sit... and pointed out exactly how to spy on his neighbor, without mentioning that said neighbor was his wife. At the very least, it would have been rather suspicious. Alternatively, had Jack simply phoned the police at the outset of the "break-in," instead of running down the hillside to try and play hero, cops could have arrived earlier and prevented the murder altogether; Det. [=MacLean=] blames Jack for the murder, in part, for this very reason.]]

* AllADream: There's sufficient evidence in the film that [[https://www.midnightonly.com/2014/08/03/body-double-1984/ the entire story is a fantasy by Jake]] as he's trying to psyche himself to do the scene.

* ForWantOfANail: if Detective [=MacLean=] had just [[spoiler:shown Scully a photo of Gloria Revelle's husband - his chief suspect - Scully would have instantly identified him as the man who asked him to house-sit... and pointed out exactly how to spy on his neighbor, without mentioning that said neighbor was his wife. At the very least, it would have been rather suspicious.]]

* SlutShaming: thoroughly averted, despite one of the main female characters being a porn star.

* NotSoDifferent: The vampire flick and the porno have the same production values - the comparison is not an accident.

NeedsWikiMagicLove.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Arguably even more so than ''any'' other film of De Palma's (even ''Film/DressedToKill''), this film is a blatant {{Homage}} to the style and subject matter of Creator/AlfredHitchcock. In particular, this film borrows heavily from ''Film/RearWindow'' (Scully's voyeuristic activities while house-sitting) and ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' ([[spoiler: greedy husband using the phobia of his acquintance in order to set him up as a perfect witness for the murder of his wife]], Scully's obsessive-yet-protective desire for Gloria--and [[spoiler: guilt over her death]]--leading him to investigate another woman, Holly, [[spoiler: to find a possible connection]]).

* SpiritualSuccessor: Arguably even more so than ''any'' other film of De Palma's (even ''Film/DressedToKill''), this film is a blatant {{Homage}} to the style and subject matter of Creator/AlfredHitchcock. In particular, this film borrows heavily from ''Film/RearWindow'' (Scully's voyeuristic activities while house-sitting) and ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' (his phobia getting him in trouble, and his obsessive-yet-protective desire for Gloria--and [[spoiler: guilt over her death]]--leading him to investigate another woman, Holly, [[spoiler: to find a possible connection]]).

An actor named Jake Scully (Wasson) is struggling with claustrophobia (which cost him his most recent job in a horror flick)--and has found out [[YourCheatingHeart his girlfriend is cheating on him.]] Left without a place to stay, Scully accepts a job as a house-sitter for a futuristic house with a 360 view of the high-class area of Hollywood. The best of it: a neighbor has a tendency to striptease in her room, visible for an eager voyeur. All well and good...until Scully notices that he isn't the only one watching.

* YourCheatingHeart: Scully's girlfriend cheating on him leads to his looking for a place to stay, which kicks off the main plot.

* {{Adorkable}}: Scully often comes across as this.