Wild Things — Review

Perhaps remembered best for the many excessive narrative twists and instances of steamy eroticism, WILD THINGS is both an ode to and an example of old-fashioned cinematic tropes. Sitting at the intersection between erotic thriller, Floridian neo-noir and pulpy melodrama, John McNaughton’s twisty near-softcore feature is a textbook example of lurid ‘90s trash. It’s an absurd thriller that refuses to be pinned down by predictability, taking frequent sharp turns in an attempt to subvert expectations. McNaughton constructs WILD THINGS to be as seductive as its characters, with George S. Clinton’s score and the coastal setting accentuating a palpable air of mystery, drawing you further into the complex plot.

For all the criticism that could be levelled at the sinuous storytelling structure, WILD THINGS does lay clues throughout that hint at specific revelations. Some of the acting performances appear clumsy at first, but each reveal recontextualises what has happened prior, placing extra emphasis on the value of replaying the movie with the benefit of hindsight. WILD THINGS ultimately retains its cultural relevance principally because of how it twists again and again, and just when you think it’s done, it twists a couple of times more. If THE RETURN OF THE KING is the perceived champion of a film having "too many endings", Wild Things is undeniably the "too many twists" equivalent.