Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
The activities of rampaging, indiscriminate serial killer Ben are recorded by a willingly complicit documentary team, who eventually become his accomplices and active participants. Ben provides casual commentary on the nature of his work and arbitrary musings on topics of interest to him, such as music or the conditions of low-income housing, and even goes so far as to introduce the documentary crew to his family. But their reckless indulgences soon get the better of them.
Man Bites Dog is a genuinely singular work — a Belgian mockumentary that implicates the viewer in its own moral horror with a chilling, darkly comic audacity rarely matched. Ben's character is performed with terrifying naturalism and charisma, making the acting the film's standout achievement. Its novelty is undeniable: the meta-commentary on media complicity and voyeurism was prescient and executed with a distinctive, uncompromising voice that feels utterly one-of-a-kind. The rough, grainy cinematography is functional and purposeful but deliberately crude by design, landing it at average. The plot is episodic and escalatory rather than conventionally structured, which serves the concept well but limits dramatic architecture. The ending is bleak and fitting but somewhat abrupt, sacrificing full catharsis for tonal consistency.