Rent Basic Instinct (1992)

Great Erotic Thriller - Basic Instinct review by GI

Even today there are still debates about who actually is the killer in this fantastic erotic thriller. Controversial and gripping this film pushed the boundaries for its sex scenes and the murders are shocking even when you know they're coming! For a mainstream movie it still has power and it's wonderfully written even though you have to forgive a couple of very glaring plot holes. The fun though is that there are clues liberally spread throughout that are easily missed when you first see this so it's worth another watch so you can concentrate on spotting them. The grisly murder of a former rock star begins an investigation by flawed San Francisco detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and his partner Gus (George Dzundza). Their main suspect is the victim's lover Catherine (Sharon Stone), a highly intelligent book writer whose last novel depicted a murder exactly the same. When Nick begins a dangerous affair with Catherine he begins to doubt her guilt and his investigation reveals other surprising suspects. The plot here twists and turns and Stone, in her first starring role, is especially good as the manipulative Catherine. Douglas, then a big box office star, took risks with this role as Nick is an immoral man who commits some despicable acts during the course of the story. Dutch director Paul Verhoeven was well known for being a film maker prepared to shock and he certainly did so here as the film contains some now very famous scenes not least the interrogation of Catherine. This is a great thriller, it's adult, complex and very entertaining. Certainly if you've never seen this then I highly recommend it and if you have then it is one that's worth a revisit.

What a film written on cocaine looks like: totally unhinged, brilliant & absorbing. I loved it - Basic Instinct review by TB

This is totally off the wall filmmaking. A complete guilty pleasure. As much as I wasn't old enough to remember it being released, I can see why it made the massive impact that it did. Many people forget that in the late 80's to early 90's, there was still the enormous fear and paranoia over sex/intimacy due to the AIDS crisis. And Michael Douglas has stated that that's what made him committ to making this film, to push back against the fear and lack of sex on screen.

The story is a brilliant cat and mouse thriller. A record producer is brutally murdered and the prime suspect is his girlfriend Catherine Tramell, who also has links to many other people who have been involved in murder. The detective in charge, Nick Curran, who has plenty of skeletons in his closet, investigates and slowly begins to fall dangerously in love with Tramell, whilst all around him people start to die.

The biggest things which I loved about this film were its totally out-there craziness and the brilliance of the cast. Put simply, if either of these things were not fully committed to, the film would have failed. Douglas, who was a massive Hollywood star by the 90's, took an incredible risk by starring in this film. It could so easily have gone so badly wrong and destroyed his career. Likewise, as much as Stone wasn't a household name, she was at the beginning of her career & a point where most actors/actresses make very safe bets in order not to damage their images and potential. But both of them fully commit to not only the madness but also the sexuality of the film: there are no nervous looks or self-consciousness on display.

And at the center of it all, everything is masterfully directed by Paul Verhoeven. So easily this film could have descended into a schlocky mess with the sex simply used as a distraction from what was going wrong elsewhere in the story. But that it remains a pulpy, wonderfully crackers whirlwind is to everyone's credit.

It isn't just the acting which is great. The budget for this film was massive and it looks amazing. The cinematography, colour palette & lensing is beautiful, as are the locations and chase sequences. And remastered in 4K, it looks amazing.

This is a guilty pleasure, but more than that, it is a reminder of a time when films and established stars genuinely took risks. It's a shame that some of that cannot be applied today, with the sheer amount of turgid re-heated dreck that is released by movie studios and streaming services.