Wild Things

[DarkImbecile]

A spoilt rich kid, a troubled teen from the wrong side of the tracks, a carefree playboy and a dogged detective find themselves all caught up in the sex crime of the century in this steamy star-studded crime thriller from the director of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.

Popular and charming, student counsellor Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon) is no stranger to being the focus of female attention within the moneyed cliques of Florida’s Blue Bay. His fortunes are about to change dramatically, however, when one of the wealthiest students at his high school, sultry siren Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards), accuses him of rape. The charge looks sure to stick when another girl from the other end of the social spectrum, Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell), steps forward with her own allegations, but Detective Duquette (Kevin Bacon) smells something fishy, and the truth is as murky and dangerous as the alligator-infested swamps in the hinterlands of this affluent beach community.

Presented in new 4K restorations of its original theatrical version and extended ‘Unrated Edition’, Wild Things is a classic piece of sexy late-90s neo-noir from director John McNaughton and writer Stephen Peters, whose serpentine plotting will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end credits roll.

Product Features

• New 4K restorations of both the Original Theatrical Version and the Unrated Edition from the original camera negatives by Sony Pictures Entertainment
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Exclusive new audio commentary by director John McNaughton and producer Steven A. Jones
• Commentary by director John McNaughton, cinematographer Jeffrey Kimball, producers Steven A. Jones and Rodney Liber, editor Elena Maganini and score composer George S. Clinton
• Exclusive new interview with John McNaughton
• Exclusive new interview with Denise Richards
• Making of documentary
• An Understanding Lawyer outtakes
• Trailer
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anne Billson and Sean Hogan
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
  Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Hadley

[domino harvey]

My writeup from the 90s thread

Wild Things (John McNaughton 1998) I'm not sure a film this dependent on twist after twist works all that well on a second viewing, but considering that I could only vaguely recall the actions of the film after the first twist, I gave it a shot. This is a competently made and entertaining neo-noir trifle gifted with an exaggerated reputation due to the aforementioned glut of twists and its free use of nudity and sexual situations (which are actually not as prevalent as memory inflates). As in Drop Dead Gorgeous, I think Denise Richards hits the right notes of the dead-eyed youthful beauty (it's no surprise her career never went anywhere once she stopped getting cast in teenage girl parts), and while the sheer number of characters and extras harping on Matt Dillon's alleged sexual appeal got to be a little Mary Poppins/Poochie-esque, there's surely no better actor to play a swaggering dick, right? This isn't much more than an enjoyable lark but I will give special praise to the wonderful end credit sequence which intercuts superfluous explanations of the multitude of double-crosses and twists in between credit cards at a furious pace. It's rare that a film acknowledges how implausible its twists are and then calls an audience's bluff and explains them!