fight in the cemetery, Christopher and Otto both return separately to the studio. Christopher kills Wiley when he finds him watching the footage of Karen's murder. He then turns and is shocked to see Karen's corpse apparently moving towards him and brandishing an ice-pick, with which she fatally stabs him. Otto, who is then revealed to have been holding up Karen's body as another intended prank, realizes he has mistakenly used the real ice-pick to stab Christopher, and laughs at the irony. Cast Andra Akers as Tracy William Finley as Otto Margo Norton as Karen Jared Martin as Chris Ken Burrows as Wiley Jennifer Salt as a 'Bird' Reception During the film's very limited U.S. theatrical release, it was screened with Paul Bartel's short film The Secret Cinema. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times said both films were "somewhat sophomoric in tone and crude technically", but "imaginative enough to warrant encouragement to their makers." Thomas felt the first half of Murder a la Mod was "terrible", but that "de Palma then successfully comes to grip with a Rashomon-like technique in presenting the murder from the points of view of everyone involved." Vincent Canby of the New York Times said the film "has a mind and reality of its own. It's completely logical in its use of cinematic tricks — speeded-up action and slow motion, and slapstick humor that is not funny, juxtaposed with mayhem that is. There is a limit as to just how far this sort of playfulness can be carried." David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews called it "De Palma's first (and worst) feature-length endeavor". DVD/Blu-ray reissues Murder a la Mod was reissued on DVD by Something Weird Video in 2006. It was subsequently included as a bonus feature on Criterion's Blu-ray edition of De Palma's Blow Out in April 2011. See also List of American films of 1968 French New Wave New Hollywood Notes References External links 1968 films American black comedy films American crime thriller films Films directed by Brian De Palma Films about pornography 1960s black comedy films 1960s crime thriller films 1968 directorial debut films 1968 comedy films 1968 drama films Films about film directors and producers 1960s English-language films 1960s American films