Basic Instinct (1992) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

U.S. 1992
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Michael Douglas, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Daniel von Bargen
Rating: R
Release Date: May 14th 1992 (Australia); March 20th 1992 (U.S.)
Running Time: 2 hours 8 minutes 5 seconds

The Movie Review

Basic Instinct film still 1


BASIC INSTINCT
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In the early 90s, if you were already grown up enough to rent a mature-content video, did you experience how hard it was to rent Basic Instinct? Or were you one of those lucky guys who could simply get to own one? Anyhow, it's rather hard to grab a piece, be it either on vhs, betamax or laser disc. Luckily, those days, were the times of sharing, the times of watching together with your friends and had a blast talking about it afterwards. If you dig movies such as Body Heat, Body of Evidence, Deception, Poison Ivy series, Wild Things trilogy or even the spectacular Lust/Caution, it won't be complete without viewing Basic Instinct. Though... I doubt that you'll like its long overdue sequel Basic Instinct 2.

Directed by Paul Verhoeven and released on March 20 1992, Basic Instinct tells the account of Detective Nick Curran who investigates a series of gruesome murders done allegedly by a seductive, rich, and brilliant Catherine Tremmel (Sharon Stone). Catherine is really not that average woman that you got to see everyday, she has everything that she wants, and her motive for killing people is vague. However, as a crime story writer, she's notorious for having a story that precisely resembles the murders around her. But why do all the leads that Nick (Michael Douglas) and his loyal friend Detective Gus (George Dzundza) have are finally stuck. Nick becomes obsessed with the case and as he enters deeper into Catherine's life, he starts to lose his cop instinct and is trapped in a frustrating and confusing labyrinth of mind games. But is Catherine really the cold-hearted killer? Or is it someone else who's done it and framing Catherine by using the plot in her books?

Catherine Tremmel is a great character, it's like the totally dark side of the moon version of a great detective. Not just that she's extremely a hot blonde but is academically-equipped with skills to manipulate people's mind and to analyze people's move beforehand, just like a mind-chess master. And that people... Is a great weapon that a woman could have. And this character is what brought Sharon Stone to large international attention. Sharon Stone plays Catherine to the excellent level. She could really portray an intelligent, mysterious and seductive woman with no flaws. And with no flaws, I also mean that she really gave it all out, not just by performing Catherine very well but by also performing full frontal nudity scene and steamy sex scenes with Michael Douglas. For this fact, the same credits and reasoning go to Michael Douglas as well.

It's fun to see a good detective being tossed around like that, ping pong-ed here and there till he breaks down and his cop instinct becomes dull. Poor Michael Douglas, after getting screwed in Fatal Attraction, now he meets an even scarier woman. And he's also good in Basic Instinct, though I still like his performance better in Fatal Attraction, but of course the stars of the show are Sharon Stone and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Overall, all the actors performances are very good. This thriller film is a character-driven type, Nick Curran's character development more precisely. And so by development, it means 'takes time', and by 'takes time' it means 2 hours before the end credits role! But it doesn't feel to dragging, 2 hours in the evening with this flick is a time worth-spent.

On its core, Basic Instinct is about mind game where the observer becomes the observed, where the object becomes the subject. It's not merely about full nudity that Sharon Stone and another actress perform (Jeanne Tripplehorn as Dr. Elizabeth Garner), that's just eye candy scenes to spice things up. What I'm saying is Basic Instinct really isn't cheap as anyone would suspect without even having watched this movie first. The story and how the cast play their roles would make you feel emotionally-attached to Nick Curran. You could feel his agony, and the way he loses his mind gradually, it shows us how the story doesn't force you to believe, but it pervasively makes you believe in it. Mario Kassar (producer of Rambo) had done it again, with Basic Instinct, this producer has made another icon for popular culture, and I wouldn't go as far as saying legendary, but the scene where Sharon Stone crosses her leg while being interrogated is very well known. Very.

Basic Instinct is a really great erotic thriller to watch it with your spouse, it's classy and sophisticated. I even feel like giving it a separate category alone just for the script. Really engaging, bold and daring, it knows no boundary or taboo but performed with such delicate euphemism and metaphors. Basic Instinct really is a perfect movie for a relaxed evening.