Rent Wild Things (1998)

Swamp Noir with a Twist (and Then Another Twist) - Wild Things review by griggs

I had high hopes for a good, trashy thriller—something stylish, a little sleazy, and self-aware. What Wild Things delivers is more like a feature-length episode of a teen soap that once skimmed a Wikipedia page on film noir. The dialogue clunks along with all the grace of a sunburnt convertible, and the performances—Murray aside—seem to be waiting for someone to yell “cut” and apologise.

There’s no real depth here, just a pile-up of tropes: high school seductions, corrupt cops, femme fatales with student IDs. It flirts with satire, but never fully commits. Thankfully, Bill Murray shows up halfway through like a weary chaperone at a school dance, injecting a much-needed shot of dry wit.

The film does become more twisty as it goes on, but also more absurd. By the end, it’s a pinball machine of plot turns—fascinating in its commitment to nonsense. It’s hysterically over the top, accidentally amusing, and held together by sheer camp. Not quite fun, not quite serious, but definitely… something.

Funny - Wild Things review by SB

This film sends up lots of conventions like the American high school film, court room drama, determined cops don't give up, erotic thriller etc, and is centred around shenanigans in a Florida coastal town inhabited by rich white trash and poor white trash. At times it's very funny indeed, either through one liners and sight gags, or more sustained pleasures like Bill Murray's ultra relaxed defence lawyer and Teresa Russell as a selfish mother. Neve Campbell is somewhat wasted in her part as a school student at the lower end of the social scale, and the leading man is a little anonymous. Denise Richards is, well, Denise Richards, and she dominates the whole film. Despite that, the 18 certificate is probably a bit unnecessary.

Ludicrous but watchable - Wild Things review by LC

It's hard to tell if this erotic thriller is a deliberate tongue-in-cheek parody, or just falls into 'so bad it's good' territory. The dialogue and stilted performances give this the feel of a soft-core porn film, whilst the plot ends up piling so many twists and double-crosses on top of each other that it rapidly becomes ludicrous. And yet, it's so bonkers I just had to watch to the end. Impossible to take seriously, but it has a certain campy charm.