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Wild Things

 

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Wild Things


 
 

Wild Things is a 1998 erotic crime filmCrime film Summary

A crime film, in its most general sense, is a film that deals with crime, criminal justice and the darker side of human natu...
/neo-noirNeo-noir

Neo-noir is a term given to the modern trend of incorporating aspects of film noir into films of other genres....
 starring Matt DillonMatt Dillon

Matthew Raymond Dillon is an Academy Award-nominated American actor....
, Kevin BaconKevin Bacon

Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor who has starred in Footloose, Stir of Echoes, Wild Thin...
, Denise RichardsDenise Richards

Denise Lee Richards is an American actress and former fashion model....
, Neve CampbellNeve Campbell

Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. ...
 and Bill MurrayBill Murray

William James "Bill" Murray is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-winning American comedian and actor...
. It was directed by John McNaughtonJohn McNaughton Summary

John McNaughton is an American film director, originally from Chicago, Illinois....
. In some countries the film was released as Sex Crimes. An uncutUncut

Uncut means unaltered in form. Uncut can mean:...
 version of the movie, adding seven minutes to its runtime, was released on DVDDVD

DVD is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound q...
 in 2004.

Plot

Two female students—wealthy, popular Kelly Van Ryan and goth trailer dweller Suzie Toller—accuse Sam Lombardo, a high school guidance counselor, of rapeRape

Rape is the act of forcing penetrative sexual acts, against another's will through violence, force, threat of injury, or oth...
. During the trial, Suzie reveals that Mr. Lombardo did not rape her and that Kelly fabricated the charges because she was in love with him and angry he slept with her mother. The trial humiliates Van Ryan and her entire family, and Lombardo receives a generous settlement ($8 million), which he uses to retire peacefully. It is then revealed that Sam, Kelly, and Suzie orchestrated the scandal with the aim of taking the money from the trial.

As police sergeant Ray Duquette becomes suspicious, Suzie becomes increasingly nervous and Sam worries that she will undermine their plan. After Kelly has an affair with Suzie, Sam and Kelly take her to the seaside, where Sam murders Suzie with a wine bottle. This incident frightens Kelly, who did not expect murder as part of their plan. In the investigation into Suzie's disappearance, police find her blood and teeth by the ocean. Ray discovers Sam is the killer and goes to Kelly's house to protect Kelly from Sam. In the confrontation between Kelly and Ray, both are shot, Kelly fatally. Ray explains how she shot at him and he had to return fire. Ray is discharged from the police force following this incident, while Sam spends time at a tropical resort. Sam goes to his room and finds Ray there — Ray and Sam had been collaborating the whole time.

They later go cruising in Sam's boat in the ocean, where Sam knocks Ray overboard. When Ray climbs back onboard, Suzie — alive and now with blonde hair — shoots him with a spear gun and Ray disappears into the surf. Before Ray falls over, he pleads to Sam for help. Sam would say "you should not have killed Kelly", signifying he and Suzie showed no remorse in having to kill Ray. As Sam relaxes, Suzie gives him a drink laced with poison and knocks him overboard. She sails the boat back to shore by herself.

A series of flashbacks explains the story. Suzie devised the plan, in which she wished to receive the money from the trial, as payback to her wealthy step-sister Sandra Van Ryan (Kelly's mother) for being scorned and abandoned by their father. Suzie also wanted to kill Ray in revenge for killing her friend, Davie, some time ago. She manipulated all the characters in the plot, making Sam seem the mastermind and faking her own death. She was underestimated because of her delinquency and poor background. Those who knew her say her IQ was around 200 and, if she put her mind to it, "she could do anything." As for Kelly's death, Ray shot her first and then put a gun in her hand and made it appear that she had shot at him.

This movie, like the other two in the series, maintains a strong lipstick lesbian sexuality content theme throughout.

Cast

  • Matt DillonMatt Dillon

    Matthew Raymond Dillon is an Academy Award-nominated American actor....
     as Sam Lombardo
  • Kevin BaconKevin Bacon

    Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor who has starred in Footloose, Stir of Echoes, Wild Thin...
     as Sergeant Ray Duquette
  • Neve CampbellNeve Campbell

    Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. ...
     as Suzie Marie Toller
  • Theresa RussellTheresa Russell

    Theresa Russell is an American actress....
     as Sandra Van Ryan
  • Denise RichardsDenise Richards

    Denise Lee Richards is an American actress and former fashion model....
     as Kelly Lanier Van Ryan
  • Daphne Rubin-VegaDaphne Rubin-Vega

    Daphne Rubin-Vega, also known simply as Daphne, is a dance music singer and actress....
     as Detective Gloria Perez
  • Robert WagnerRobert Wagner

    Robert John Wagner is a popular American film and television actor....
     as Tom Baxter
  • Bill MurrayBill Murray

    William James "Bill" Murray is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-winning American comedian and actor...
     as Kenneth Bowden

Filming locations

Almost all the high school sequences, including many pool scenes, were filmed at Ransom EvergladesRansom Everglades Summary

Ransom Everglades consists of two educational institutions in Coconut Grove, Florida, one middle school and one upper school...
 school in Coconut Grove, FloridaCoconut Grove, Florida

Coconut Grove, originally spelled Cocoanut Grove, is a neighborhood located in the City of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dad...
.

Related films

The sequel to the movie, 2004's Wild Things 2Wild Things 2

Wild Things 2 is the second installment in the Wild Things trilogy....
, never saw release in the theatres and went straight to video, as did a third film called (2005). The sequels recycle much of the plot, dialogue, and direction of the first film, albeit with different actors.

In February 2006, it was reported that Campbell and Richards will appear in Backstabbers, and producers are trying to get more of the original's cast to star as well. Although Backstabbers would reportedly reunite members of the cast and crew of Wild Things, it would not be a sequel.

External links