Wild Things
Unrated Edition
(Columbia/Tri-Star Region 1 DVD)
(1998)
review by Head Cheeze

Who'd have thought that the same guy who directed the repugnant, viscious, and sickeningly realistic Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer had a sexed-up, steamy, and southern fried spin on Diabolique in him? With 1998's Wild Things, director John McNaughton tore a few pages from the classic double-cross genre handbook, threw in a healthy dose of Lolita-esque sexploitation, and delivered a film that seemed to openly embrace the fact that it was destined for years of late-night cable airings before anyone truly appreciated it for the cult-classic-in-waiting it actually is.

Sam Lombardo (Dillon) is an affable, somewhat dim Florida guidance counselor who suddenly becomes the target of an amorous nymphette's burgeoning lust. When Sam spurns Kelly's (Richards) wet t-shirt-clad advances (something I could never do), he finds himself accused of raping the spoiled rich girl. Just as it doesn't seem Sam's life could get any worse, trailer parkie Suzie (Campbell) also accuses Lombardo of rape, and the counselor finds himself behind bars. Detective Ray Duquette (Bacon, continuing his campaign to vicariously work with every actor in history) wants to make sure Sam stays behind bars, and aggressively pursues the case, however, Suzie reveals that she and Kelly are crying wolf to set Sam up out of spite. When Sam (with the aid of his low-rent attorney played by Bill Murray in a small-yet-hilarious turn) fleeces Kelly's heiress mother (Theresa Russell) out of $8.5 million dollars to help rebuild his life after he's cleared of all charges, Duquette begins to wonder if everything is as it seems.

Wild Things is most widely remembered for it's steamy smooch sessions between Campbell, Richards, and Dillon, which are admittedly hard images to shake. However, this is actually a very well-crafted thriller in the vein of the aforementioned Dialbolique, and, as lensed by cinematographer Jeff Kimball, oozes with the steamy atmosphere of a classic southern fried murder mystery. It also doesn't hurt the film that both Richards and Campbell are very easy on the eyes, and there are a few scenes in the film that rank up there with some of the sexiest images ever burned to celluloid!

This Unrated Edition DVD from Columbia/Tri-Star features a few extra minutes of skin and sin, for those of you (us) that didn't get enough in the R-rated cut, but, to be honest, it's actually hard to see much of a difference. I'm also of the school of thought that what is implied is often sexier than what is shown. What I really wished CTS added were some special features, as I am a big fan of this film, and wouldn't have minded a commentary track, interview, featurette, hell....anything, really. Instead, we just get the same filmographies and trailers that inhabited the original R-rated DVD release.

If you already own a copy of Wild Things on DVD, you are really only missing about 10 seconds worth of Denise Richards breasts, a few extra kisses between her and Campbell, and a slightly longer menage-au-trois scene. It's not worth upgrading if you already own Wild Things in it's R-rated incarnation, but if you don't, by all means pick up a copy of this film. I think it's one of the most underrated films of the late 1990's, and well worth a spot in your collection.