Wild Things is the perfect sleazy, trashy yet also entertaining erotic-suspense-crime-thriller that has a great plot with twists and turn underneath the sultry sex scenes.
Wild Things
(1998)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Crime
Arrow Video | R / Unrated – 108 min. / 115 min. – $59.95 | May 24, 2022
Date Published: 05/13/2022 | Author: The Movieman
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Arrow Video provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3¾/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Popular and charming, student counselor Sam Mombardo (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. Review: Not sure why but the mainstream erotic thrillers, especially those from the 1990s, fascinate me though probably not for that reason. Over the past few months I’ve watched or revisited a few like Presumed Innocent, Sliver and Basic Instinct. It could be argued the crown jewel would be 1998’s Wild Things, a movie with plenty sordid scenes (the unrated version especially with an incestual relationship) not to mention a few soft-soft core porn scenes. However, underneath all the sleaze and trash is actually a great mystery-crime-thriller with more than a few twists and turns that makes for a genuinely fun experience. One thing that makes Wild Things stand out, compared with its sequels, is it managed to rope in a few established actors that includes Kevin Bacon (who also serves as executive producer), Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell (coming off of successes with Scream and Scream 2, plus the TV series Party of Five) as well as some other veterans like Theresa Russell and Bill Murray, who was wonderful as a shyster, strip mall, lawyer. Adding to the mix is Denise Richards who prior starred in Starship Troopers and while it is laughable for her, aged 27 at the time, passing off as a high schooler, she is great in the role. After watching Wild Things probably for at least the fifth time, it still holds up really well not only for the amazing 90s trash I so love but at the core a well structured plot, from Stephen Peters (this was his last credited movie), that keeps your attention until the very end with plenty of double, triple crosses and more. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4/5 |
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The single 4K disc comes housed in a wide HD keep case which side-slides into a sturdy outer case. Inside is a fold-out, double-sided poster (one with the new artwork, the other with the theatrical), and a nice book containing essays. Outside of the deleted scenes that were on the DVD (and I guess integrated into the “Unrated” version), everything else has been ported over along with some new bonus features. Audio Commentaries
The first track is new and exclusive to this release as McNaughton and Jones look back on making Wild Things and talks about shooting locations (like the production paying $200k+ to shoot at the high school), the cast and some of the crew members. There’s a fair amount of information on both tracks, often overlapping with the second one having been recorded 20+ years ago. Would’ve been nice to have one of the actors join in but even so, I found both tracks to be engaging enough. Note: Both tracks are for the R-rated, theatrical version. Interviews:
“An Understanding Lawyer” Outtakes (0:27) short but funny line-o-rama with Bill Murray. Also includes the Theatrical Trailer (2:23) and Still Gallery. |
VIDEO – 5/5 |
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Arrow Video releases Wild Things on 4K Ultra HD and is presented in its original 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p high-definition transfer. Per the included booklet, the restoration was undertaken by Sony Pictures from the 35mm Original Camera Negative. There was HDR color grading done which I found aided the colors had an innate appearance. All of this was confirmed and signed off by director John McNaughton. Meanwhile, detail was sharp and nicely defined throughout and the natural film grain and noise has been retained. There were no signs of dust marks, specs or other flaws making for a wonderful transfer from Arrow and Sony. |
AUDIO – 4½/5 |
| The disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This is a robust track with George S. Clinton’s great score coming across all five channels and has a good boost with the LFE channel. Dialogue meanwhile comes across with good clarity and there is nice depth with the Florida swamplands coming to life via the center and rear channels. I didn’t detect any aural anomalies like any hissing, pops, etc and is likely a marked approved over the original Blu-ray’s PCM 5.1 track.
The back cover states this has an “uncompressed stereo audio” which was not on the disc. I assume this was a mistake made on the back cover as the booklet does not mention this track. |
OVERALL — 4/5 |
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Overall, Wild Things is the perfect sleazy, trashy yet also entertaining erotic-suspense-crime-thriller that has a great plot with twists and turn underneath the sultry sex scenes and T&A. It’s perhaps one of my favorites in the subgenre and features great performances from Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards. This 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video includes excellent video and audio transfers and a solid selection of bonus material. |