Basic Instinct | Rotten Tomatoes

Basic Instinct

R

Released Mar 20, 1992

2 hr. 7 min.

Mystery & Thriller

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List

56%

77 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The mysterious Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a beautiful crime novelist, becomes a suspect when she is linked to the brutal death of a rock star. Investigated by homicide detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), Catherine seduces him into an intense relationship. Meanwhile, the murder case becomes increasingly complicated when more seemingly connected deaths occur and Nick's psychologist and lover, Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), appears to be another suspect.

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Critics Consensus

Unevenly echoing the work of Alfred Hitchcock, Basic Instinct contains a star-making performance from Sharon Stone but is ultimately undone by its problematic, overly lurid plot.

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Don J

Saw the new 4K remaster of Basic Instinct (2021) produced by Rialto Pictures and Studio Canal. The transfer was really good and clean and felt fresh for a movie that is almost 30 years old. I had not seen this movie in about 15 years, so seeing it on the big screen felt pretty fresh. Is Basic Instinct a great movie? No. But, I think it was a bold movie for it's time to take on some really explicit material including sexual and sadistic violence, which many producers didn't have the courage to take on before. The movie's main strength is the electrifying chemistry between Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/10/21

Full Review

Aleksander S

Basic Instict is a story filled with eroticism and passion. Although engaging, the plot has some gaps, which are hard to overlook.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

Full Review

Zach Z

I thought this was a really well done movie. With twists, sexual themes, sexuality, and crime, Sharon Stone did a great job acting and the camera work is fantastic. Thank you for making this movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/15/24

Full Review

Scott M

Best American made erotic movie of all time. Really the only American erotic movie I consider even good. Not only good, but spectacularly made. Acting is top notch by Stone and Douglas. They were perfectly cast. Great music. The 2 seconds everyone loves is iconic. But for me the movie iconic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/24

Full Review

Abe A

It's a 3.5. Good thriller, but strip out the sexual stuff and you're left with a well-structured thriller whose end is still somewhat unsatisfying in that all the loose ends aren't quite tied up neatly. It's still not clear how the 'bad guy' turned into the 'bad guy' when and how they did. Of course this isn't an art movie, so I won't comment on characterization and style. The cinematography is great, and the views of Pacific Coast Highway are great. Roxy is an unneeded plot thread, in my opinion--perhaps she's thrown in as a red herring. This is one of the better thrillers out of Hollywood, but was mostly famous at the time for the sexual and nude scenes.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

Christian K

Seemed like the obvious follow up to watch after Fatal Attraction. The mystery here is good and also convoluted, can't decide in which direction more but it kept my attention throughout.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/24

Full Review

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Paul Verhoeven

Director

Michael Douglas

Det. Nick Curran, SFPD Homicide

Sharon Stone

Catherine Tramell

George Dzundza

Gus Moran

Jeanne Tripplehorn

Dr. Beth Garner

Denis Arndt

Lt. Philip Walker SFPD

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Basic Instinct: Trailer 1

1:57

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

...earns its status as what Nick deems "the f*ck of the century", or at least what Catherine grudgingly concedes to be "a pretty good beginning", in radicalising the sexual politics of a subgenre more often associated with male privilege.

Jun 14, 2021

Full Review

Carrie Nelson

Bitch Media

Basic Instinct depicts queerness in the most sinister ways imaginable.

Jan 12, 2021

Full Review

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Senses of Cinema

With her high octane gyno-power at full throttle, [Sharon Stone] ... commands our attention now as much as she did on the film's initial release, defiantly holding our gaze if we dare even for a moment let our eyes drift towards anything else.

Aug 27, 2018

Full Review

Terry Francis

Southern Voice (Atlanta)

Basic Instinct is the work of fundamentally immature sensibilities. It uses women and differences in affectional preference as fodder for its misogynist, peek-a-boo mentality that views whatever it cannot understand as evil and threatening.

May 9, 2023

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Charles Rhodes

Our Own Community Press (Norfolk, VA)

A conglomeration of misogynistic nad homophobic images...

May 3, 2023

Full Review

Elissa Suh

Moviepudding

Basic Instinct is canon and you should watch it immediately if you haven’t already.

Feb 17, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

The mysterious Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a beautiful crime novelist, becomes a suspect when she is linked to the brutal death of a rock star. Investigated by homicide detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), Catherine seduces him into an intense relationship. Meanwhile, the murder case becomes increasingly complicated when more seemingly connected deaths occur and Nick's psychologist and lover, Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), appears to be another suspect.

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Executive Producer: Mario Kassar
Screenwriter: Joe Eszterhas
Distributor: Live Entertainment, Live Video, Pioneer Entertainment, Columbia Tristar
Production Co: TriStar Pictures, Carolco Pictures Inc.
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 20, 1992, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 15, 2015
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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