Wild Things

Wild Things is a 1998 erotic thriller film directed by John McNaughton and starring Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacon, Denise Richards, Neve Campbell and Bill Murray. In some countries the film was released as Sex Crimes.

The film starts with Sam Lombardo (Dillon), a high school guidance counselor in Blue Bay, Florida, being accused of rape by Kelly Van Ryan (Richards), one of his students. Ray Duquette (Bacon) and his partner are assigned to the case. The charges appear to be unsubstantiated until Suzie Toller (Campbell) comes forward and says Lombardo raped her too. Lombardo hires low-rent lawyer Ken Bowden (Murray) to represent him and seems sunk until Suzie admits she and Kelly made up the charges to get revenge on Lombardo for past wrongs. Sam is awarded 8.5 million dollars in a settlement with Kelly's mother and suddenly everyone wants a piece. The movie devolves into a scheme of epic proportions.

The straight-to-video sequels (Wild Things 2 and Wild Things: Diamond In The Rough) were panned and generally ignored. The oddest thing about them is that they copy the first film's outline -- rape accusation, threesome, then tons of betrayal -- to the point where they're just shy of being remakes. A fourth has recently come out (subtitled Foursome, natch), and there's been talk for years of a film called Backstabbers which would reunite the original Wild Things cast.

Because this movie massively depends on a wide assortment of unexpected plot twists, many of the examples are spoiler-tagged. Highlight at your own risk.


 * All Men Are Perverts:
 * Zig-zagged to all hell with.
 * Averted with.
 * Beneath the Mask: A major theme of the film. Sam appears to be an honest, upstanding educator, but he's really a Kelly appears to be an all-American teenage girl next door, but she's actually  Ray appears to be an honest if overzealous cop, but he's actually a  Suzie appears to be a white-trash loser, but she's actually a.
 * Lampshaded by Ray, although in reference to another character.

"Ray: People aren't always what they appear to be, Jimmy. Don't forget that."


 * Black and Gray Morality: The only "white" character in the film is Ray's partner. The rest are various shades of gray, while is the closest to black.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Bowden. He wears a neck brace when out in public for a nonexistent neck injury.
 * The Chessmaster: although a couple of other characters come close.
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: A theme of the entire film.
 * Creative Closing Credits: Interspersed within the credits are a series of short scenes that tie the rest of the movie together, including a final one that.
 * Dawson Casting: Denise Richards was 27, Neve Campbell 25, both playing high school girls. Justified by some of the sexual content, which might be Squick-y if it featured actual high schoolers.
 * Depraved Bisexual: Suzie and possibly Kelly.
 * Everything's Even Worse with Sharks:
 * : What triggers the plot.
 * Fan Service: A lot of it. Kevin Bacon's penis, Denise Richards' breasts, two lesbian make-outs, and even Kelly's Hot Mom is seen nude, riding the pool boy.
 * Fatal Attraction: Subverted and gender-inverted between.
 * Gambit Pileup: A notorious example, with reveal after reveal.
 * Plot of first film: Rich girl Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards) flirts with Sam Lombardo (Mat Dillon), her guidance counselor, until at last he invites her into his house in private. Afterwards, she runs off in tears, then accuses him of rape. He claims she's lying, and given her earlier behavior, it looks like it'll be impossible to prove her case. Suddenly, another victim, Suzie (Neve Campbell) is found and is willing to testify. Then.
 * Every film in the Wild Things series strives to escalate to make each plot twenty times more convoluted and confusing than the previous film's. Chances are, if you are the protagonist, the antagonist, the victim, a background character... hell, if you're in the film, you are in on the scheme and may be weaving some incredibly complex plans of your own. If there are two things that Wild Things is known for, it's the incredibly sexy lesbian scenes, and this trope.
 * Gambit Roulette:
 * Slightly justified by interviews
 * Hates Being Touched: Suzie.
 * Kansas City Shuffle: The entire plot revolves around.
 * Karma Houdini:
 * Laser-Guided Karma:
 * Mirror Scare: Used when.
 * Nautical Knockout: Done deliberately at the end of the movie; the victim is then left to drown.
 * Out-Gambitted:
 * Reliable Traitor: Ken Bowden.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In some ways, this is what the conspiracy is all about.
 * The Summation: Shown in a flashback sequence at the end.
 * Tampering with Food and Drink: Double Subverted.
 * "Take That!" Kiss: After Suzie and Kelly's fight in the pool. Though Suzie quickly kisses back, and it's implied they then have sex. Could also be seen as a Kiss of Death
 * Teacher-Student Romance: Minus the romance. The trial revolves around Lombardo being accused of molesting Kelly and Suzie..
 * Vigilante Man: Ray Duquette
 * What Could Have Been: This version of the script provides some additional backstory for many of the characters, in particular giving both Sam and Kelly more reason to get involved in the conspiracy. Unfortunately, this backstory was cut from the final version of the film.
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl:.