Basic Instinct

Name: Basic Instinct
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Romance
Released: March 20, 1992
Duration: 127 min
Rating: 41
Cast: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone

1992

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 438 Ratings

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3.8

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3.8	User Score Generally unfavorable reviews based on 438 Ratings

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Basic Instinct

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Movie Details & Credits

TriStar Pictures | Release Date: March 20, 1992 | R

Starring: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone

Summary: A brutal murder. A brilliant killer. A cop who can't resist the danger. Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone co-star in this thriller about a man who finds within himself an instinct more basic than survival. [Artisan]

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 127 min

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Critic Reviews

Staff [Not Credited]

Grade-A pulp fiction. This erotically charged thriller about the search for an ice-pick murderer in San Francisco rivets attention through its sleek style, attractive cast doing and thinking kinky things, and story, which is as weirdly implausible as it is intensely visceral. Read full review

Peter Travers

The film is for horny pups of all ages who relish the memory of reading stroke books under the covers with a flashlight. Verhoeven has spent $49 million to reproduce that dirty little thrill on the big screen. Read full review

Jay Carr

Paul Verhoeven's Basic Instinct is a slick, trashy, blatantly manipulative thriller that you won't stop watching once you start. [20 Mar 1992, p.25]

Kathleen Maher

Verhoeven's film is fascinating, if stupid and stylish, if shallow. The story has to move along at a fair clip because otherwise we'd notice how nonsensical it all is. And there is very little to connect with emotionally. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff [Not Credited]

The worst things about Basic Instinct, though, are the explicit "love" scenes. They're supposed to contribute to a heady equation in which sex, violence and psychology are fused; instead, they're gratuitous, exploitative, and entirely unerotic. Read full review

David Sterritt

Verhoeven's lurid thriller has moments of welcome self-parody, but most of the action manages to be sensationalistic, homophobic, and tedious at the same time. [20 Mar 1992, Arts, p.12]

Jay Scott

A perverse, lame-brained thriller that is pornographic, misogynist and homophobic. If that makes it sound appealing, I should also add that it's silly, boring and intellectually insulting. Read full review

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User Reviews

Huckster

Jan 27, 2013

Basic Instinct broke new ground like no other thriller - it combined erotic, full-on action with great performances, sexy characters and a breath-taking soundtrack. Verhoeven ramped up his in-your-face style with original cinematography using new and different camera angles which wereBasic Instinct broke new ground like no other thriller - it combined erotic, full-on action with great performances, sexy characters and a breath-taking soundtrack. Verhoeven ramped up his in-your-face style with original cinematography using new and different camera angles which were confronting but always highly seductive. Sharon Stone delivers an empowered performance unlike any female character seen before. She is hot, sexy, beguiling and enticing, with occasional unexpected vulnerability. The film is visually attractive and, while slightly predictable, takes you on a fantastic ride right till the last minute. Far and away the most powerful character is Jerry Goldsmith's brilliant, exceptional, original soundtrack - always reminding you of the risks and pleasures inherent in the storyline. His music is complex, fresh and daring from the opening scene to the credits.… Expand

6 of 81 users found this helpful675

SNXL

Feb 28, 2022

Um filme sensacional, pena que o diretor tenha sido um babaca com a atriz. Ainda assim, gostei muito do filme, é bem interessante, intrigante e sexy.

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

talisencrw

Jan 14, 2016

Controversy aside, in regards both to Sharon Stone's quintessentially-provocative noirish femme fatale (talk about a queen bee or alpha female!) and the backlash that the film portrayed lesbians as crazed psychos, Verhoeven both played a striking tribute to Sir Alfred Hitchcock, particularlyControversy aside, in regards both to Sharon Stone's quintessentially-provocative noirish femme fatale (talk about a queen bee or alpha female!) and the backlash that the film portrayed lesbians as crazed psychos, Verhoeven both played a striking tribute to Sir Alfred Hitchcock, particularly San Francisco's based Vertigo and in use of the blonde bombshell, and simply continued his style of storytelling that had become his trademark in his pre-Hollywood, formative days in the Netherlands. Though it's not mentioned in the interviews of either star or director, the wonderful car chase brought to mind that 'other' car chase Frisco Bay movie, 'Bullitt'. But given the remarkable landscape of the area, why not? One would be a fool not to push the stylistic envelope as far as the censors will allow. A film that would have made The Master of Suspense proud, methinks, and one that he himself perhaps would have done, had Joe Eszterhas' very fun script been around, during, say, the time of 'Frenzy', when Hitchcock was at his cheekiest. A fantastic date movie too, by the way...… Expand

1 of 7 users found this helpful16

Panchogul

Jan 4, 2021

Me tardé años en ver esta película y valió la pena, sin ser una obra maestra es un verdadero clásico de la década de 1990 en donde lo que más destaca es la ferviente química entre Sharon Stone y Michael Douglas, pero realmente quien se lleva todo el peso de la cinta es Sharon de principio aMe tardé años en ver esta película y valió la pena, sin ser una obra maestra es un verdadero clásico de la década de 1990 en donde lo que más destaca es la ferviente química entre Sharon Stone y Michael Douglas, pero realmente quien se lleva todo el peso de la cinta es Sharon de principio a fin.… Expand

0 of 25 users found this helpful025

ComandanteCobra

Jul 31, 2021

Good, sexy crime thriller. Yes it has the famous "chair scene", yes Sharon Stone was stunning.
I like Verhoeven's works and I'm surprised that he can be effective in different genre:
Total Recall, Robocop, Starship Troopers, Showgirls are all good and all films that were different from theGood, sexy crime thriller. Yes it has the famous "chair scene", yes Sharon Stone was stunning.
I like Verhoeven's works and I'm surprised that he can be effective in different genre:
Total Recall, Robocop, Starship Troopers, Showgirls are all good and all films that were different from the movie masses when they came out… Expand

0 of 27 users found this helpful027

Theguyoffire

Nov 6, 2012

Basic instinct is just like watching porn. The characters are so stupid and the plot itself is horrible. It felt as if they just wanted to put nudity and sex in it so that they could make us watch people have sex. Well if you are into good movies. Don't see this one. Even Bad boys 2 isBasic instinct is just like watching porn. The characters are so stupid and the plot itself is horrible. It felt as if they just wanted to put nudity and sex in it so that they could make us watch people have sex. Well if you are into good movies. Don't see this one. Even Bad boys 2 is better. However if you are into boring, uninspired acting, mediocrity, and just down right bad. I recommend this to you.… Expand

6 of 12 users found this helpful66

TonyB.

Feb 12, 2006

Glossy trash with not a believable minute in it, "Basic Instinct" attracted customers who should have spent their money more wisely. The dance hall scene, so over the top, is a scream!

1 of 3 users found this helpful

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