Review of Man Bites Dog (1992) by Brandon V — 06 Jul 2010

I can understand why people have certain problems with Man Bites Dog. Really I can. I just think they're wrong.Yes it's gruesome. Yes it displays a very warped sense of humor. Yes it sometimes goes to far in trying to repulse and cloud the moral sensibilities of its audience.

But you either get it or you don't. The makers have not set out to make a movie intended to titillate the viewer, or to satisfy our morbid curiosities concerning serial killers. If that had been their intention they wouldn't have shot the film on cataract-inducing grainy black and white film.

They've made a movie that examines the role of violence in society and more importantly in movies. They've made a purposefully repulsive character that only seeks to prove that old Hollywood moral conundrum - if the protagonist makes us laugh and occupies a large amount of screen time, we, the audience will forgive him no matter what he does.

I don't think I have ever seen film that is quite like this, It's really the only insightful piece next to Psycho that really captures the psyche of a serial killer.