REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS
Many films have tried to attack the media for it's seeking out of violent and exploitative stories with complete disregard for the victim's feelings, and very few of them have actually succeeded. Last year saw the release of 15 Minutes, which to me was nothing more than jumped up entertainment, the age-old scenario of pot calling kettle. Before that we had Oliver Stone force-feeding us his message with Natural Born Killers, which to this day is still the most effective of the cycle. But before any of those films (not to mention Michael Haneke's Funny Games, which I haven't seen) there was Man Bites Dog. An immature and decidedly vulgar little film that so badly wishes it was saying something important under it's guise of sick social satire and supposed black comedy that it's as painfully obvious as the poor acting of the lead. The film is nothing more than a badly made student film, supposedly a mock documentary about a group of film-makers who follow around a serial killer? I'm sorry, but I don't buy the plot at all, are we supposed to be shocked later in the film, when the film makers begin to actively take part in Benny's murders, because if they where such good human beings to begin with they wouldn't passively stand by and watch him murder women and children. If the character's were journalists maybe I could have understood this, but no, there was never any mention of journalism made that I picked up on. This film is nothing more than a bad joke, committed against moviegoers who take this rubbish seriously. Not only a waste of film, but a waste of time for anyone who watches it. 2/10, and that's just for the black and white photography.
Many films have tried to attack the media for it's seeking out of violent and exploitative stories with complete disregard for the victim's feelings, and very few of them have actually succeeded. Last year saw the release of 15 Minutes, which to me was nothing more than jumped up entertainment, the age-old scenario of pot calling kettle. Before that we had Oliver Stone force-feeding us his message with Natural Born Killers, which to this day is still the most effective of the cycle. But before any of those films (not to mention Michael Haneke's Funny Games, which I haven't seen) there was Man Bites Dog. An immature and decidedly vulgar little film that so badly wishes it was saying something important under it's guise of sick social satire and supposed black comedy that it's as painfully obvious as the poor acting of the lead. The film is nothing more than a badly made student film, supposedly a mock documentary about a group of film-makers who follow around a serial killer? I'm sorry, but I don't buy the plot at all, are we supposed to be shocked later in the film, when the film makers begin to actively take part in Benny's murders, because if they where such good human beings to begin with they wouldn't passively stand by and watch him murder women and children. If the character's were journalists maybe I could have understood this, but no, there was never any mention of journalism made that I picked up on. This film is nothing more than a bad joke, committed against moviegoers who take this rubbish seriously. Not only a waste of film, but a waste of time for anyone who watches it. 2/10, and that's just for the black and white photography.
