Wild Things
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: March 20, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
6
Negative:
5
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
SalonMichelle Goldberg
One reason Wild Things works so well is that director John McNaughton sustains a darkly comic tone throughout the film without letting it degenerate into farce. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJack Mathews
The movie has more twists than Chubby Checker, and as soon as you think Stephen Peters' script has used up every conceivable opportunity, it twists again. Read full review
80
VarietyLeonard Klady
Not only is it highly unusual, but the picture is chock-full of surprise and unexpected humor to leaven its thriller trappings. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's like a three-way collision between a softcore sex film, a soap opera and a B-grade noir. I liked it. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
This movie has everything. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A tricky-bordering-on-gimmicky film noir with a glaze of soft-core kink. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A passionate murder mystery with more twists than a thrashing alligator. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The movie is as tawdry as someone else's lingerie, yet not without a certain prurient watchability. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The fun of Wild Things -- and there's a lot of it -- is in its never-ending game of cross and double cross. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Predicated on two ideas -- that human nature is rife with perfidy and that it's important to get the cast into hot cars or bathing suits whenever possible -- Mr. McNaughton and the cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball (''Top Gun,'' ''True Romance'') give a decadent gloss to this far-fetched, quintuple-crossing tale. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
A sleazy, seamy, flashy, steamy, vulgar exploitation thriller that revels in every minute of its own trashiness and delivers some pretty solid -- if prurient -- entertainment before strangling in a one-twist-too-many ending. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Contains extremely graphic sex and many twists that are unpredictable but not very compelling. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
It's amusing in a trashy sort of way. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
The film almost redeems itself with what may be the longest, most elaborate post-film/pre-credits sequence in film history, but it will still disappoint anyone expecting more than watchable trash. Read full review
40
EmpireAndrew Collins
As double-cross becomes triple-cross becomes quadruple cross, it all gets awfully trying. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
This is film noir for the MTV generation: fast-paced, slick, flashy, gleefully mindless, and hollow to the core. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Denby
Wild Things, which was written by Stephen Peters and directed by John McNaughton, lacks fantasy and flamboyance, that it lacks, precisely, wild things, and that most of it is just flat. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
This picture breaks through the limits and goes way beyond the pale -- it seems to enjoy irking us for the sheer hell of it. Read full review
20
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Despite the cast -- Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Theresa Russell, Robert Wagner, and Bill Murray -- I found it preposterous. Read full review
10
Dallas ObserverJimmy Fowler
Wild Things reaches such dizzying heights of wretched dialogue, creaky contrivances, and panting performances, you're forced to wonder if the filmmakers realized how bad their script was and switched gears into pure camp at some point during the shoot. Read full review
More From This Movie

51 Critic Reviews

8.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL