Benoît Poelvoorde, Jacqueline Poelvoorde-Pappaert, Nelly Pappaert

A camera crew follows a serial killer/thief around as he exercises his craft. He expounds on art, music, nature, society, and life as he offs mailmen, pensioners, and random people. Slowly he begins i...( read more  read more... )nvolving the camera crew in his activities, and they begin wondering if what they're doing is such a good idea, particularly when the killer kills a rival and the rival's brother sends a threatening letter.

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91% liked it

17,281 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

15 critics

NC-17, 92 min.

Directed by: André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde, Rémy Belvaux

Release Date: December 31, 1992

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DVD Release Date: September 24, 2002

Stats: 1,535 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,535)


  • September 15, 2009
    Benoit Poeloorde's performance is terrifying, his unpredictability makes for very tense viewing. This is a dark comedy, filmed as a documentary (with a Dogma feel about it), in striking B/W contrast, with the cast eventually becoming part of the story. It's very clever, very sick...( read more), quite funny and absolutely brilliant! That's why The Blair Witch Project ripped it off! Recommended for those of you without heart conditions!
  • July 12, 2009
    A documentary film crew follows a serial killer as he makes his rounds and slowly begins to participate in his crimes. Worth seeing for provocation value, but ultimately the relentlessly unpleasant ironic sadism can't be justified by the filmmakers' meager insights about the med...( read more)ia's complicity in fostering violence.
  • April 20, 2009
    pretty good, you should really see this! Benoit is excellent in this movie, and even though the movie was made with a low budget, it shows how a movie can be great without a lot of money ;)
  • December 15, 2008
    (Major Spoilers)


    Meet Ben...


    Ben likes to strangle women and repeatedly batter a man's head wide open on a sink. Ben likes to rape a woman while the husband is forced to watch. He likes to sc...( read more)are old women to death, in result of an instant heart attack. He also likes to suffocate little children with pillowcases. Ben even likes to party hard.
    So hard till he vomits on himself, and he even shoots down his own friend's at birthday parties!

    Ben is an insanely SADISTIC serial killer...and also a celebrity!(Well, there's a first time for everything, right?)

    Man Bites Dog tells the story of a small film crew who follows around a demented, but an intelligent madman named Ben, in attempt to make a true "Snuff" documentary. It turns out the crew take a likening to Ben, and they strangely connect, hitting it off on their revoltingly shameless and gory adventures, and even share laughs together. At times, Ben even seems like a civil person, the polite man in the street who stops to cheer you up. He's even a caring family member most of the times. He's humorous, and he's also loyal and loves his girlfriend...

    ...We know this cause we witness it all on actual footage(but keep in mind of course, this is just a mockumentary).

    But of course Ben has his charm, as most serial killers do. A side that we don't see when our backs are turned, and while the unlucky one's roam the street late at night. But the difference here though, is Ben doesn't have a reason to hide his viscous side. He knows he's being filmed 24/7, and half of his friends already know he's a damn psychopathic killer. Right there you know that this movie isn't meant to be taken seriously. Actually it's part of what makes this movie so dementedly funny. Yes, Man Bites Dog is a comedy as well! A sick, and disgusting, dark and vile comedy...but a comedy that's insanely outrageous.

    Ben even finds it humorous! He jokes with the film crew in the middle of his slayings, and teaches them the right techniques in murdering. Like I said before, Ben's a humorous kind of guy.(only his humor is tasteless and despicably evil)...But hell! At least he puts the "fun" in killing!

    Here's where it gets even funnier...

    As the film progresses, the documentary film crew start fearing for their own lives. Ben doesn't seem so friendly anymore(well I really don't think he ever gave a sh*t), but accidents start happening, and the film crew are being offed one by one as well. Still, they continue to finish the documentary! Come on now? How are you suppose to take this film seriously after that being said? But that's what's great!(keep this in mind when watching the brutal killings. I don't know, it might help you stomach it better)...lol, I doubt it though! This is still a sick and fu*king down right disturbing movie. The violence is raw. There's no shying away either. The violence is in-your-face raw, with no remorse for the viewers. This is some sick sh*t!

    The acting here is solid all around, which helps make things alot...well I guess...worse(I mean that in the best way possible of course). I'm just saying it adds too much realism to the slayings, which would be hard for most people to watch. But look on the bright side...Man Bites Dog is funny as well(again with the "acting" part, in helping to make the humor more convincing and funny). Just be very OPEN MINDED when watching this...grab a vomit bag, and (try to)enjoy this sick insanity.

    You've been warned!


    ""Man Bites Dog" is probably one of the most disturbing, horrific, disgusting and ruthless films in the history of cinema."
    - moviesmademe.com

    "A black comedy that's as dark as night, Man Bites Dog is a worthy successor to A Clockwork Orange as this generation's most telling and unflinching look at our views on violence."
    - Filmcritic.com

    "Personally, I think the film has it's moments where I was thinking to myself "Why am I enjoying this?!", but all of it is underscored with a huge exclamation point and subtle yet effective humor that softens the blow. There are times when this combination will have you rolling on the floor laughing, and other times when you'll recoil in an attempt to pander to your better judgment."
    - HorrorView

    "This grainy black-and-white shoestring- budget "mockumentary," about a film crew following around a professional killer, is one of the most bizarre, hilarious, and disturbing things I've ever seen."
    - eFilmCritic.com

    ""Man Bites Dog" is realistic, almost too realistic. The film is in truth more surreal than real, but the primitive styling and shaky "amateur" camera work persuade you to believe this is a documentary. You believe the harshness seen to be reality, with nothing surreal about it. This "mocumentary" wants you to feel horrified and disgusted. If you become too agitated to watch it, the film succeeds in its goal,(if you simply laugh at it you are sick), but if you sit through the entire movie (and I would recommend you do) the film will give you closure. But remember, even if it appears real, it's done for the sake of art, and what a masterpiece it is!"
    - Movie Vault
  • August 15, 2008
    An extremely impressive neo-realist film, worthy of several repeated screenings. Punctuated with just the right amount of naturalistic dialogue and humour, and the image has a flawless ability to make events which are sometimes too serendipitous for narrative film work incredibly...( read more) well within this illusion that we are watching real footage. Beyond being a very raw portrait of murder, this film is extremely poetic and the main character is unforgettable.

    "So Fucked Up" highlight:
    main character kills friend for no apparent reason at birthday celebration, film-makers take part in a rape/double murder
  • November 8, 2009
    J'aimerais tellement revoir ce film!
  • October 27, 2009
    The most badass movie ever made.
  • October 14, 2009
    i know this movie is disturbing to most but i found it to be a laugh riot.. in a good way cause i believe this film was meant to be a dark comedy , which in a sense makes it more disturbing cause benoit basically is nonchalant
    during the rape and murder scenes
    well done mockume...( read more)ntry!!!!!!
  • October 8, 2009
    Funny and dark mockumentary with a touch of social commentary. Just the right length. Great acting too. A very poetic film. Reminded me of Clockwork.
  • September 21, 2009
    Fucked. Pretty severly. But at the same time holds a lot of rather intense and interesting things below it's surface. The very fact that this was made on no money as a film school project kinda blows my mind.

Comments


  • dixi
    April 26, 2007
    Imasing movie,gret pictores and ironic story bechind it.

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