Wild Things (1998)
There is strong Verhoeven and Brian de Palma vibes in this outrageously hilarious sleaze campy elaborate scheme film. I don’t know why I missed this when it came out, because 13 year old me would have loved this - for different (or same) reasons. I knew that it was a film full of elaborate crazy twists, and I still couldn’t see them coming. Wildly entertaining, and as the films of Verhoeven and de Palma, it balances the fine thread of self aware overacting and campyness, where it is difficult to tell whether it is self-satire or just genuinely bad. I am totally in the camp of loving this ridiculous style when it is done with such confidence and commitment.
The only thing I could have lived without is the end credits. It wasn’t necessary to explain things, it didn’t add anything new and ruined some of the mystery. Yes it does reveal yet another twist, but that could have been handled in another fashion.
Rating: 4.5