Overview: A spoiled rich kid, a troubled teen from the wrong side of the tracks, a carefree playboy and a dogged detective find themselves all caught up in the sex crime of the century in this steamy star-studded crime thriller from the director of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Popular and charming, student counsellor Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon) is no stranger to being the focus of female attention within the moneyed cliques of Florida’s Blue Bay.

His fortunes are about to change dramatically, however, when one of the wealthiest students at his high school, sultry siren Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards), accuses him of rape.

The charge looks sure to stick when another girl from the other end of the social spectrum, Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell), steps forward with her own allegations, but Detective Duquette (Kevin Bacon) smells something fishy, and the truth is as murky and dangerous as the alligator-infested swamps in the hinterlands of this affluent beach community.

Presented in new 4K restorations of its original theatrical version and extended ‘Unrated Edition’, Wild Things is a classic piece of sexy late-90s neo-noir from director John McNaughton and writer Stephen Peters, whose serpentine plotting will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end credits roll.

Blu-ray Verdict: This highly entertaining sleaze-fest features gratuitous nudity, bi-sexuality and a ménage-a-trois which all seem to have been included purely to spice things up! It’s also, however, a glossy thriller with an extremely well written plot that’s intriguing, humorous and outrageously twisted!

Remarkably, by the time all the explanatory flashbacks (which are included with the closing credits) have finished, it’s also evident that the whole thing makes sense. Greed, betrayal and murder are the story’s main ingredients but the sheer wickedness of its characters and the movie’s satirical qualities also combine well to ensure that Wild Things still compares favorably to most other crime-related mysteries that may be currently on offer.

Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards) is a spoilt, 17-year-old rich girl who lives in Blue Bay, Florida. She’s used to getting everything she wants but when she sets her sights on her High School guidance counsellor, Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon), things don’t fall into place as easily as she expects and she accuses him of rape.

Local police detectives Ray Duquette (Kevin Bacon) and Gloria Perez (Daphne Rubin-Vega) are charged with the responsibility of investigating the alleged crime and Perez is certainly not convinced that there is any substance in Kelly’s accusation.

When another girl, Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell) also comes forward and makes a similar accusation, Sam Lombardo is arrested and hires lawyer Kenneth Bowden (Bill Murray) to defend him. Kelly’s mother Sandra (Theresa Russell) is very wealthy and powerful and also one of Sam’s ex-lovers!

She’s delighted to use the situation to try to ruin Sam but after the case against him collapses in bizarre circumstances and Lombardo is awarded a multi-million dollar settlement for defamation of character, Sandra Van Ryan is left furious and humiliated and looking for revenge.

The course that the story takes from this point on is full of twists and double-crosses that keep on coming until the movie eventually ends with the most surprising development of them all.

The characters in Wild Things include the very rich and the very poor as well as people who are employed in the legal profession, education and law enforcement. What they all have in common is that they’re all morally bankrupt and most of them are criminals!

The way in which they’re represented on-screen is brilliant as the acting is pitched at just the right amount over-the-top to exploit the absurdity and humor of so many of the situations without allowing the impact of the more scandalous and wicked goings-on to be diminished in any way.

In this respect, the entire cast is top-notch, but Bill Murray does particularly well as a shyster lawyer who enjoys a good insurance scam but is also smarter than he first appears to be.

In conclusion, Wild Things is beautifully filmed and some passages of the score wouldn’t have seemed out of place in Twin Peaks. It’s tremendous fun to watch and very rewarding because it delivers so much more that it initially seems to promise. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

New 4K restorations of both the Original Theatrical Version and the Unrated Edition from the original camera negatives by Sony Pictures Entertainment
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Exclusive new audio commentary by director John McNaughton and producer Steven A. Jones
Commentary by director John McNaughton, cinematographer Jeffrey Kimball, producers Steven A. Jones and Rodney Liber, editor Elena Maganini and score composer George S. Clinton
Exclusive new interview with John McNaughton
Exclusive new interview with Denise Richards
Making of documentary
An Understanding Lawyer outtakes
Trailer
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anne Billson and Sean Hogan
Double-sided fold-out poster
Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Hadley