Man Bites Dog (1992)

Hands down the most bizarre and sporadic movie I have ever seen, besides Swiss Army Man which is truly surreal. A black and white Belgian mockumentary about a camera team who shoots a movie about Ben, a serial killer. and his daily life, whether that be brutally killing people or visiting his mother. The camera team begins to abide and participate alongside Ben. It is incredibly hard to describe this movie, as it is very entertaining yet there is a substantially messy script.

The movie is entirely filmed by hand resulting in a lot of shaky camera movements, this makes it hard to tell what is going on at times. The film is in black and white, maybe to save costs or produce a particular atmosphere.

A very entertaining movie, that finds amusement in the obscene things that Ben does. I enjoyed a lot of the dialogue that took place in the movie with some brilliant lines. The acting was decent particularly from the lead who played a compelling character with great hubris. There are some truly funny scenes throughout this movie. One that stands out is when the movie crew and Ben run into another serial killer before finding out the other is also shooting a documentary. The film stands as more a dark comedy than an actual thriller. This film was also far ahead of its time, addressing issues of the morality of news and the devolution of the film crew. The problem is the bad execution that is messy and confusing for viewers.

My biggest gripe with this movie is the lack of motive and the issues with its script. There is no character arc or development in this movie what so ever, it begins to drag its heels near the end as the killings become repetitive and predictable. We no longer wonder what he will do next as it's all shown in the first half. This movie is similar to A Clockwork Orange but falls far short. Alex in A Clockwork Orange changes throughout the movie and by the end understands how to manipulate and play by the rules. Ben doesn't change at all making him a dull, static character. Both share rape scenes, yet while A Clockwork Orange evokes feelings of nausea and horror, this movie fails. The reason? Script. The script of Man Bites Dog is incredibly scattered making it difficult for viewers to put things in place. The end will leave viewers thinking, "That's it?" and then shrug as it provides no commentary on society despite its satirical nature. Despite an intriguing premise and it is an entertaining movie, Man Bites Dog falls short as the script and pacing are horrible. I give this film a 6 out of 10.
- GL

6 / 10


(Above) Our favourite shot:

(Below) Our runner up:






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