Independent producers obliged with a spate of films and sequels that kept the product pipeline primed. Retailers needed titles beyond the major studio releases to meet consumer demand-and the demand was for R-rated erotic thrillers, ones decidedly missing the patina of early 90s prestige awarded to Basic Instinct, thanks to its big-name cast, director ( Paul Verhoeven), and screenwriter ( Joe Eszterhas, who received a then-unprecedented $3 million for his screenplay). The home-video industry, then in its heyday, wanted in. era’s most rewound, replayed, and parodied frames of film, via Stone’s instantly infamous interrogation scene. A cop who can’t resist the danger”), starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in her siren-making role, was the ninth biggest box- office hit of the year, earning almost $118 million domestically-and likely producing the V.H.S. The reviews weren’t all that hot (“Brutal and brutalizing,” wrote Dave Kehr in the Chicago Tribune), but the sex, violence, and controversy over its perceived homophobia and misogyny were-and that was enough to put asses in seats.īasic Instinct (tagline: “A brutal murder. For a certain subset of the population, the 1992 phenomenon Basic Instinct-released exactly 25 years ago-was the movie of the century.
