Jessa Crispin

The genius of Basic Instinct

The Paul Verhoeven classic is far cleverer and more powerful than people think

Credit: Tristar

Our occasional series on cinema’s most underrated films arrives at what many have considered the peak of misogynistic trash. 


We’re in 1980s America, and a bunch of Hollywood execs are puffing on cigars, sipping scotch. ‘You know, I’ve been hearing a lot about these so-called “liberated women”. What do you think they’re like?’ And thus — or so I imagine — the erotic thriller was born. 

Everything we’ve learned from the #MeToo accusations, scandalous trials and casting-couch innuendos suggests powerful men might have been shocked to learn that there were women engaging in sexual activity voluntarily — without having to be coerced or forced. Is this why they made so many films that showed liberated women as ultimately mentally unstable (Fatal Attraction, No Way Out), or dangerous (Body Heat, The Last Seduction)? Women who like sex? They must be crazy!

The world these men have created is all fluorescent lighting, sensible sedans and ugly shoes

Though there were many terrible erotic thrillers produced in the 1980s and 1990s, one scene has stuck in our collective memory. I’m talking about that bit in Basic Instinct: Sharon Stone in a white dress uncrossing and recrossing her legs, is still referenced, satirised, memed and made into a punchline almost 30 years after its initial 1992 release. It is burnt into our brains, and our first impulse is to laugh to avoid recognising that we, the audience, are the sweaty, tragic cops interrogating her. We sneer while transfixed, we renounce while intently leaning forward. And we, just like the cops, think we are in the position of power: we were sent to judge Sharon Stone for her transgressions, oblivious that the reverse is true.

Basic Instinct is the story of a series of unsolved murders… you don’t care, you don’t watch these things for the plot.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in