Review of Man Bites Dog (1992) by John M — 14 Aug 2011

Belgian psycho. Man Bites Dog is about a documentary crew following around a eccentric serial killer, capturing him doing his thing on camera, and also getting to know him in between, as he talks at length about whatever pops into his head.

You ever read American Psycho? And I do mean read the book, rather than watching the movie. I liken this movie to that experience. It's rambling punctuated by graphic violence and dark humor, and while that does make the brutality stand out more, it doesn't make for a totally interesting experience.

Just like in American Psycho, there is SO much aimless talk about the mundane, it just ends up being eye-gougingly frustrating, and you are left with little else to do other than twiddle your thumbs and wait for something shocking to happen.

The pitch black humor did make me laugh out loud, and I was genuinely disturbed by some of the situations that occur, so it does have effective bits that I do appreciate, I only wish it had been surrounded by less boring ambling.

I will probably never revisit this again.