In “Basic Instinct,” famous rock star Johnny Boz (Bill Cable) is found dead in a hotel bed. While making love, he was repeatedly stabbed with an ice pick while tied to the bed with a white silk scarf. The investigators soon suspect the writer Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone).
This wasn’t just the murder victim’s girlfriend. Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and his partner Gus Moran (George Dzundza) also soon discover that Catherine’s latest book describes how a rock star is killed with an ice pick. However, the seductive suspect manages to escape the police interrogation, while Nick becomes more and more under the spell of the blonde. Nick didn’t know then that her next book would be about the murder of a police officer…
Remains an ordinary masterpiece
Before “Basic Instinct” hit theaters in the early 1990s, there were of course erotic thrillers like “9 ½ Weeks” or “Sea Of Love”. But director Paul Verhoeven (“Starship Troopers”) has taken the genre to a new level. The lustful passion for crossing boundaries is noticeable at every moment in “Basic Instinct” – the most famous and talked about scene of the movie (and arguably the decade) is just the icing on the naughty side.
We’re talking, of course, about Sharon Stone’s iconic leg roll, briefly showing that the actress was not wearing any underwear. The scandal was born. Aside from that, however, this sequence is the decisive impetus to really get Paul Verhoeven’s ambiguous genre drive going. Because it is precisely at this moment that it becomes clear that Verhoeven is mocking the voyeurism of the viewers.
In fact, at first glance, “Basic Instinct” is a very classic whodunit that raises two questions: who committed the murder of Johnny Boz, and who will be the perpetrator’s next victim? Paul Verhoeven may be dramaturgically following the well-known paths, but he increasingly transforms the classic scenario into lustful pleasurein which the audience, along with Nick, increasingly find themselves in the cunningly seductive web of Catherine Tramell.
Therefore, “Basic Instinct” is still an exciting thriller, but in truth Verhoeven impressively illustrates how cinema is always tempting. The master of controversy deliberately focuses on superficial stimuli and strives for a new level that horror cinema has always claimed for itself: the connection between sex and violence.
sex and violence
In its staging, composed with the utmost elegance, ‘Basic Instinct’ often resembles an Alfred Hitchcock film – only with that nudity and brutality that Hitchcock never managed to display in his day. But how could it be otherwise, Dario Argento (“Suspiria”) and Brian De Palma (“Death Comes Twice”) also come to mind when watching “Basic Instinct”.
In addition, “Basic Instinct” remains deep in the tradition of erotic thriller cinema as it features Catherine Tramell, a thoroughly confident woman who can reject any form of patriarchal power structures. Of course, here too is the threat of female sexuality, which the film has often been accused of being misogynistic.
But “Basic Instinct” is more concerned with the abysses of temptation – and death is the logical consequence. Paul Verheoven’s lecherous game of deception isn’t backwards, it’s clever teasing – and now’s your chance to be lured onto the big screen once again:
The Best Of Cinema series – Presented by FILMSTARTS
“Basic Instinct” returns to German cinemas on February 7, 2023 – and that too in razor-sharp 4K, so better than you could see the film on the big screen before.
As part of the “Best of Cinema” event series, a great classic returns to cinemas every month and the successful series will continue in 2023 with “Rambo” at the start. As an official media partner, we at FILMSTARTS also keep you informed about upcoming cinema releases as part of “Best of Cinema”. You can find more on the Best of Cinema website. And if you want to know what highlights besides “Basic Instinct” will be announced for the first half of 2023, we recommend the following article: