Review of Basic Instinct (1992) by Briain D — 14 Dec 2013

One of the many erotic thrillers starring Michael Douglas from the late 80's and early 90's, Basic Instinct was very disappointing- I preferred Disclosure, for example. Although the premise for this picture is effective and it features a strong performance from Sharon Stone, there's a lot wrong as well. The writing is mediocre, the direction is not as smooth as it should be, and, at slow periods, the movie descends into what is effectively just pornography.

Detective Nick Curran (Douglas) is investigating a brutal murder case (a murder depicted violently on screen) , but then he falls for the prime suspect, the very beautiful Catherine Tramell (Stone). Tramell is a writer, who has previously written a book that mirrors the gruesome murder exactly and is now writing a book about a "detective who falls for the wrong woman.... and dies". Of course, Curran is this detective. He enters a lurid affair with Tramell and the results are predictably violent. Plenty of sex and deaths. Plenty of jealousy, anger and rage.

Towards the end of the film, there are some interesting plot twists, but ultimately and unfortunately, I lost interest. The film is too long and too reliant on the naked Sharon Stone and bloody murders, which just isn't enough to make up for inadequate writing.