Der Vierte Mann

Gerard is truly a showpiece in the gallery of Paul's usual asshole protagonists, so the typically Verhoeven plot, a plot that couldn't have taken place if the film's hero was thinking with anything other than his dick, manages to take us into some truly twisted narrative corners this time around. Sexy Jesus in his underpants, tomato juice, and St. Joseph stacking scaffolding: in short, once again a terribly funny and daring genre film, but one that is hard to take seriously because of the almost distilled misanotropy that blocks any attempt to relate to the characters. (12.04.2021)

Paul Verhoeven is not as explicit as David Cronenberg, but he can still capture the essence of human beings and their dark side with such terrifying beauty that you don't even want to look at it. This is exactly the case that is beautifully raw and also brutal, when in the end you lovingly sigh at how wonderfully it reminds you of Italian giallo. (16.12.2015)