The ’90s Dark Murder Thriller Is One Of The Most Controversial Movies Ever

The story of Man Bites Dog follows a really provocative idea, in which a camera crew follows a charismatic and witty but also narcissistic and easily enraged serial killer, Ben, while documenting his heinous crimes. The fact that they’re casually filming Ben’s “work” as impartial observers is disturbing from the beginning of the movie, but that disturbance only grows as Ben leads the camera crew through a series of murders, how they find themselves increasingly caught up in the chaotic violence, and eventually become his accomplices.

What is even more disturbing about the movie is the fact that Ben’s story, the movie’s aesthetics, and the dark themes plunge the viewers into a world where morality is as grayscale as the movie itself. Fittingly, it’s shot in black-and-white. It asks some interesting questions, similar to those asked in 2014’s John Doe: Vigilante. However, while the latter asks questions like whether repeat offenders pose a constant threat to society and whether the scales of justice are truly balanced, Man Bites Dog challenges media ethics.

The movie points to the voyeuristic nature of society, questions the filmmakers’ role in acts and depictions of violence, and asks where the imaginary line between art and exploitation is and whether it truly exists. In a modern era in which bullying isn’t stopped and prevented but encouraged only to be filmed with smartphones and posted on social media for likes, we all must ask ourselves the same questions Man Bites Dog asks its audience: are we just silent observers, and thus, accomplices in various, everyday acts of violence?

Philosophical discussions aside, Man Bites Dog was met with polarizing reviews, as its narrative and thematic questions managed to split the critics, with one group calling it a groundbreaking masterpiece, while the other condemned it as a tasteless shock cinema. Yet, despite the criticism regarding the film’s graphic content, Man Bites Dog won the International Critics’ Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In the end, controversies are really the lifeblood of many cult classics.

Man Bites Dog remains a rather significant piece of cinematic history. It is one of those gut-wrenching movies that you want to turn off, but it does a great job of challenging the audience to reflect on the darker aspects of our nature and the society we live in.