by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

In this column, I will explore films in which there is a female killer at the center of the plot. Although this column might cross into other genres the focus will be mostly on horror. The horror genre’s most iconic killers are typically men; Freddy, Jason, and Michael Myers. But what about all of the women in film that do the dirty work? Why don’t we spend more time talking about the Annies, Asamis, Catherines, and Jennifers out there? We will explore why she kills and how she is portrayed. Is she loving? Is she cold and calculating? Or is she painted as a hysterical woman? Also, do women have different motivations for killing than men do? What drives these lethal ladies to pick up their weapon of choice and defy the role of meak or cowering victim. I would not be shocked to find out that these murderesses have much more in common than one might expect. 

First off, what a crazy experience to finally see Basic Instinct for the first time as a 30 year old woman. Even though I was still in diapers when this came out I knew this was a big cultural point growing up in the 90s. I had heard about it, and seen some of the more iconic stills from it but truly had no idea what to expect. I do love a good sexy thriller so I knew deep down in my bones I would love this film. But I am thrilled that I decided to sit down and watch it and even more thrilled to talk about it for this particular column. That being said given the plot of the story it is a little hard to talk about without totally giving everything away so I will try but there may be some spoilers here for folks who have not seen this movie. So please go watch it, it is well worth your time. 

Basic Instinct  comes from one of my favorite Dutch directors, the infamous Paul Verhoeven. It stars Michael Douglas as Detective Nick Curran and Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell. Nick is investigating the murder of a rich former rock star. The man was stabbed to death multiple times with an ice pick after what seems to be a wild sexual encounter. All signs point to his long term girlfriend Catherine Tramell, who is a writer, and just happened to write a story about a woman who kills her boyfriend with an ice pick. So begins a deadly game of cat and mouse between the two. All of the evidence they can find seems circumstantial and Nick eventually becomes obsessed not only with the case, but with his lead suspect. However Nick has a problem, Catherine is writing a new book about a detective who falls for a deadly woman who eventually murders him. 

One of the other surprising things about this film is that it is shot by Jan De Bont and Rob Bottin (The Howling, The Thing) does the make up effects. So you can already expect some crazy action, gore on top of the hyper sexual aspects of the film. Now what aspects of this film make it hard to talk about? There should be enough context clues to know who the killer truly is but I will allow for some ambiguity here. While Catherine is the lead suspect, the film is populated with several female characters who have committed murder in the past. And although I cannot reveal if Sharon Stone killed anyone, she is definitely a woman who knows what she is doing. She is dangerous and manipulative and most people assume she is the murderer so we will talk about her along with the other interesting ladies of the film. 

So, why does she kill? Or why do we think that she kills. At the end of the day Catherine is portrayed as an intelligent psychopath. She double majored in psychology and english so while she is a writer she also knows the ins and outs of the psychiatric field which is a huge benefit to her throughout the film. We learn that she was married to a former boxer who met a tragic end in the ring and we also learn that both of her parents died in an accident that might have some unsolved mysterious circumstances. Catherine even wrote a book years later about a girl who kills her parents in a similar fashion. So if Catherine is actually a killer it would seem that she kills because she can and she likes the challenge of seeing if she can get caught. She is rich, affluent, and gorgeous. Even when we see how cold and calculating she can be if she turns on the tears, men turn into pudding in front of her. She manipulates, and potentially kills because society has made it all too easy for her to do so. 

How is Catherine portrayed as a killer? Well given the infamous interrogation scene that happens pretty early on in the film we see that all of the cops and lawyers involved see that she is cold and manipulative. She has no qualms when it comes to talking in depth about sex and violence. At the end of the day it is obvious that none of these men know what to do or make of her because they have never met this kind of woman. Even as the relationship between Curran and Tramell becomes something more, that icey sting is never gone for long. He tries talking to her after they have sex and she responds “I’m not going to tell all my secrets because I had an orgasm” one of many great lines she delivers in the role. It is interesting seeing how Curran and the rest of the team investigating her feel uncomfortable, probably because they cannot just write her off as a hysterical crazy bitch. She is calm, collected, and never gives on more emotion than she needs to. 

Now the film is also populated with other women who have either murdered someone in their past, or were suspected of doing so. We learn that Catherine has a rather close relationship with an older woman named Hazel Dobkins ( Dorothy Malone) who went to prison for some time because she murdered her family. There is also Roxy Hardy (Leilani Sarelle), Catherine’s live-in girlfriend who has a jealous streak when Detective Curran comes into the picture. It is revealed that when Roxy was young she also committed a brutal murder however because of her age the records were sealed. These women somehow all surround Catherine creating a bit of a bad girls club that the police have trouble making heads or tails of. While they also seem to think of these women as cold blooded they are easier to write off as crazy compared to someone like Catherine. 

Perhaps the most interesting comparison in between Catherine and Dr. Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Beth is a psychologist at the police department and is also Nick’s ex girlfriend. It is clear from the beginning she is still in love with him but as soon as Catherine enters the picture Beth is sidelined as “every other woman”. Early on in the film they have, what seems to be nonconsexual sex after Nick has interrogated Catherine. It is the only time in the film he seems to want her and it is only so he can use her for sex while he tries to stay away from the cold blond he really wants. Beth is the one that is eventually painted as the typical crazy bitch lover who also might be hiding her own dark past involving a husband who died under strange circumstances. Catherine is able to twist Nick around her finger and make him believe anything she wants, while Beth, who is trying to help Nick keep a job he probably doesn’t deserve, gets pushed away. Ultimately Beth feels like the most relatable character playing the role that too many women have played “the girl trying to do anything in her power to fix the broken man that does not actually care about her.” 

One of the more fun aspects of the film is how Nick is treated. While it seems he is the all star detective we learn early on that he has a troubled past with drugs, alcohol, and a few cases of manslaughter. The audience is told that Nick is a good cop but we really never see him do a good job investigating Catherine. However he remains full of himself, his intelligence, and his sexual prowess. Which is hilarious considering how he has almost assuredly fallen into Catherine’s trap. She only needs to cry on his shoulder one time for him to forget the cold bitch he had met so many times before. A woman who has said things like “I am a writer, I use people for what I want” and when talking about her dead lover says “Yeah I liked fucking him”. This is not the sweet woman he creates in his mind. Nick is truly terrible at his job. There are a few interesting facts about the making of Basic Instinct that are interesting in relation to the gender politics of the film. One is that supposedly the lead detective in the film was going to be a woman and was written with Kathleen Turner in mind. The other interesting tidbit is that once they decided on a male detective Douglas declined to go full frontal and he would not let his character be bisexual like Catherine’s. While both of these would have made for an interesting change it feels right that we get Nick who is a little macho and full of himself, making him a foil for Catherine.

In the end Basic Instinct is a fascinating example of the deadly woman. She takes Hitchcock’s cool blond archetype to the next level making her deadly and sexual. The film knows that its “killer” is cold, calculating, intelligent, and devastatingly gorgeous. While the cops are certainly suspicious of her they would all easily try to fuck her if given the opportunity. Catherine does not give them the opportunity to paint her as crazy or hysterical. She makes sure they give her the reverence that she deserves. They are equal parts terrified and aroused when she walks through the room and one time in bed might be okay even if they end up at the end of the ice pick. In general Verhoeven writes some very interesting women and they sometimes have the level of manipulation we see here but rarely do they get the chance to be this deadly as well. We get a woman who is both the ultimate fantasy and nightmare something they crave and cower from. Rarely do we get this kind of killer lady in film and it is a sight to behold.