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Tags: dark, avant garde, comedy, murder, cult, violence, flashback, satire, romantic, sadist

Plot synopsis:
Ben (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a witty, charismatic serial killer who holds forth at length about whatever comes to mind, be it the "craft" of murder, the failings of architecture, his own poetry, or classical music, which he plays with his girlfriend Valerie (Valérie Parent). A film crew joins him on his sadistic adventures, recording them for a fly on the wall documentary. Ben takes them to meet his family and friends while boasting of murdering many people at random and dumping their bodies in canals and quarries. The viewer witnesses these grisly killings in graphic detail.
Ben ventures into apartment buildings, explaining how it is more cost-effective to attack old people than young couples because the former have more cash at home and are easier to kill. In a following scene, he screams wildly at an elderly lady, causing her to have a heart attack. As she lies dying, he casually remarks that this method saved him a bullet. Ben continues his candid explanations and appalling rampage, shooting, strangling, and beating to death anyone who comes his way: women (he is profoundly misogynistic), immigrants (he is a racist xenophobe), and postmen (his favorite targets).
The camera crew becomes more and more involved in the murders, first as accomplices but eventually taking an active part in them. When Ben invades a home and kills an entire family, they help him hold down a young boy and smother him. They meet a competing camera crew and take turns shooting the three men. During filming, two of Ben's crew are killed; their deaths are later called "occupational hazards" by a crew member.
When Ben takes a couple hostage in their own home, he holds the man at gunpoint while he and the crew gang-rape the woman. The following morning, the camera dispassionately records the aftermath: the woman has been butchered with a knife, her entrails spilling out, and the man has been shot to death. Ben's violence becomes more and more random until he kills an acquaintance in front of his girlfriend and friends during a birthday dinner. Spattered with blood, they act as though nothing horrible has happened, continuing to offer Ben presents. The film crew disposes of the body for Ben.
After a victim flees before he can be killed, Ben is arrested, but he escapes. At this point someone starts taking revenge on him and his family. Ben discovers that his parents have been killed, along with his girlfriend Valerie: a flautist, she has been murdered in a particularly humiliating manner, with her flute inserted into her anus. This prompts Ben to decide that he must leave. He meets the camera crew to say farewell, but in the middle of reciting a poem he is abruptly shot dead by an off-camera gunman. The camera crew is then picked off one by one. After the camera falls, it keeps running, and the film ends with the death of the fleeing sound recordist.

Review: It is the masterpiece of the dark violence/comedy genre.Man Bites Dog was way ahead of its time - before Pulp Fiction, before reality TV, before movies about the "real lives" of serial killers (Dahmer, Bundy, etc..) there was Man Bites Dog. Simply, this film is superb.Benoit is a charismatic "up-n-coming" serial killer, working out of some Belgian suburbs.
This movie is a piece of art: shocking and disturbing, while at the same time funny as  hell in a raw "should-I-be-laughing-or-should-I-be-ashamed" kind of way.
When watching this movie, try to imagine that this *could* be a real movie: documentaries about  terrorists, drugdealers, and even mercenaries (the closest thing to an actual serial killer)  have been made, and some of them were very close to their subject.It is *not* a "black comedy" in the classical sense of the word; more like a "Clockwork  Orange" for the nineties.
But like "Henry," it's fascinating.....and certainly different.It is a fake (thank goodness!) documentary with sleazy cameramen following around a serial killer as the latter murders a bunch of people while spouting philosophy between killings.
You have not seen a film like this: I guarantee it.A couple of Belgians - Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux and Andre Bonzel - did almost all the work on this movie: writing, directing, editing and acting.
But anyone with an interest in a glimpse at the darkest side of human nature will appreciate this film, not necessarily for its story or its darkness, but for its ability to make us think, and open our eyes to human behaviour we don't like to admit might exist.During the course of the movie you become totally numb to the act of killing (or maming or torture or rape or any violent crime).
That's the one I was looking for...Beautifully shot in black and white, this piece of art about a killer followed by a film crew is technically incredible.Camera movements or sound effects are among the most innovative I have ever seen.
Besides, the dialogues are so funny...We watch a lot of people being shot and this might shock a lot of people, but if the viewers bear in mind the real purpose of this "massacre" (to denounce the violence rather than glorify it), this movie is really funny.I surprised myself talking with a Belgium accent and learning by heart the dialogues in order to make people laugh.
It's (at least what I know of) the only Belgian film I've ever seen, but it's also just happens to be one of the best films I've seen from any country.Benoît Poelvoorde is fantastic as the totally mad and nihilistic serial killer Ben, his mere presence makes this movie stand out.
It's fantastically funny, if you can stomach it, that is.Many scenes of grisly violence against kids, bystanders, elders and various others will probably disgust a whole lot of people, but if you can handle it then you've got yourself a film you'll remember for a long time.I really wonder what happened to those who made this.
Consider a scenario where Travis Bickle after gaining hero status at the end of 'Taxi Driver' embarks on a rampaging killing spree(as is very likely for his character), but this time a documentary crew follows him and his actions, and with this you have the thematic equivalent of the mockumentary 'Man Bites Dog'.
The way the documentary crew remain indifferent and downright casual about the murders until things start affecting them personally is a clear statement on the film viewers of that time and subsequent generations and their tendency to gravitate towards graphic and disturbing violence.
Although the film has comedic sensibilities running through it, but it does not compromise when it comes to depiction of violence.There are some chilling moments in the film that underline this like the moment where two kids are scene playing with toy guns and shooting at each other and the it suddenly jump cuts to Ben actually shooting real people.
It does make you feel a bit contaminated by the nihilistic violence, a bit like 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer', but I think that was intentional on the part of the directorial team.The tag line for 'Taxi Driver' was 'On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.' This tag line is also very much fitting for 'Man Bites Dog'.
I was shocked by the violence and I was also laughing, and I was feeling uneasy about that.Many reviews talk about how the documentary crew moves from "observers" to "accomplices", but any court of law would already consider them "accomplices" within one minute of the film starting, so that development didn't register so much to me.
He IS the film, and I have a hard time imagining the story working so well without his inspired, genius turn.'Man Bites Dog' is perhaps one of the best and most original satires on sensationalist media since Sidney Lumet's seminal movie 'Network'; it's certainly the meanest (and not for the easily offended, mind you).
They've made a purposefully repulsive character that only seeks to prove that old Hollywood moral conundrum - if the protagonist makes us laugh and occupies a large amount of screen time, we, the audience will forgive him no matter what he does.I'm not really into serial killer movies as a rule - I think most of them fall foul of the criticisms hurled at Man Bites Dog. But I have NEVER seen another film that is anything like this.
You could say it is the sickest thing ever being recorded and no-one would say you're wrong and yet it's also so incredibly funny and interesting at the same time that it keeps you watching until the end.In this movie we see Ben whose every move is being followed by a camera crew.
At first the camera crew has a lot of difficulties to cope with all the violence, but as longer as they stay with Ben, they not only get immune for all the violence, but become more violent themselves.This isn't just an excellent and ultra-dark satirical movie about a serial killer.
And with all the reading and comments and all together talk around it, I was pretty much ready to break down and buy it, just to see it, I mean these foreign movies become almost like an enigma,2 or 3 go straight to the top of my must see list, but I found this DVD at a video store by my house, my expectations got thrown way off, my interpretation of it, is completely opposite of what I was expecting, it's almost like cartoon violence, it's in black and white, I mean don't get me wrong about this movie, it is what it is, it's innovative and flippant odd minded movie, the simple but clever plot is what triggered my curiosity the first time I ever read about it, I'm American, and not at all familiar with any of the actors in this movie, so my all around viewing of it was very unbiased, in that regard, The actor who play's Ben, is just unreal, way to convincing of the part,the serial killer.
"getting taken down the wrong path", I thought that was what was a little bit disturbing, it's like Ben is secretly his god, he idolizes everything Ben does, but serial killing isn't something you can really voice your enthusiasm over, so the whole playing it down scheme was also done to perfection, I recommend this movie to anybody that thinks for themselves, this wouldn't work in Hollywood for the simple fact that it's just way to much of a good thing, but come on, it's a very disturbing and violent movie, and definitely not for everybody, but the violence is given to you with disturbing scenarios, and almost no gore, It's a Masterpiece..
Man Bites Dog would have to fall under the category of the antithesis of Hollywood movies.If you can purge the shocking undiluted violence and put enough comfortable distance between yourself and the show then viewing the film with a critical eye isn't hard at all.That is, if you can do it.Because Man Bites Dog is as harsh as reality comes, displaying the warped sense of what counts for normalcy for different people and weaving in underlying messages of where we are heading with the genre of reality TV.The black and white footage, perhaps done to spare us gruesome details of massacre, effective does the complete opposite.
Mock doco about an affable serial killer.I'm not sure it intended to say anything deep about the "role of the media" (gimme a break), but it does say something about its makers:They have a sharp, ballsy sense of humor.Much of the material here is fairly repugnant from certain points of view, but it's funny because of its refusal to walk the politically correct line.Mirroring most real docos, the camera does more than record its subject, it becomes a participant -- in this case, the camera crew act as look-out for the killer.The performances are of a high standard and the black and white photography suits the style.One scene, in which the film crew line up to rape an old lady, is cut in some countries.Overall, a terrific little comedy that makes me glad cinema exists.Some will disagree, so form your own line..
I could bang on for an age about how 'violence should be disturbing' and all that cal: but that is essentially too painfully obvious and insultingly plain a point to see that it need not be mentioned on a site like IMDb.Man Bites Dog is a film like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Shining that totally invites audience participation (I don't mean 'Big Lebowski' or 'Rocky Horror' participation) and asks you to suspend belief and enter it's world.
There are 43 that I counted although I may have missed some, although 8 of those are by people other than Benoit.I particularly like the way that when we first meet Benoit he comes across as being a cold hearted being who kills postmen at the beginning of the month to get more money from the pensions in the postbags.As the film develops we see him playing the piano with Valerie, quoting poetry and appreciating art and architecture.
They have cleverly managed to give the viewer the feel that he is still making a show for the camera while doing some of these things.Also as the crew get more into the film they stop feeling revolted at the thought of killing and start to participate in the carnage.We see Benoit as playing a sort of godfather type, who boasts about the charity that he has given, and the fact that he kills people for a favour to family and friends if they want him to.
We see him and his friends talk of his 'profession' as if it were a career in accountancy.We also see his warped values - telling remy not to kick the dead body of the man who killed the soundman as revenge turns into a habit, but giving a critical analysis of his failed attempt to kill a postman while wearing a neckbrace.A fascinating fake fly-on-the-wall documentary, which is both keenly observed and witty.Record of Benoit's killings:1 x garotted; 3 x beaten; 25 x shot; 1 x asphixiation;  1 x shocked to death (I always like to try new work methods); 1 x suffocation; 1 x strangulation; 2 x don't really know..
It is definitely a far cry from the appealing and exciting world of Hollywood killers such as the ones in Pulp Fiction.This is most certainly not a film for your average cinema-goer, but if you can get in the feel of the film and the message that there is nothing that you should like about a serial killer then you will enjoy it, and be able to laugh hysterically at the stupidity of him and how seriously he takes himself - if you can do that then you will be in for a treat - this is a great film, if you know how to watch it..
But by the end, problems with the concept caused me to lose all interest, and in retrospect, find the film rather distasteful.The acting is excellent; unlike other mockumentaries, where it is fairly obvious from the actor's mannerisms that all is scripted and just an act, the actors portraying the film crew stay in character the whole time and, speaking and interacting with each other in a totally nonchalant manner (they even give off vibes that they are rather bored in most discussion scenes, which isn't surprising, given that compared to the excitement of filming murders, anything else must be excruciatingly tedious and dull), giving the impression that maybe it really is just a group of friends shooting a documentary project for film school.
After about 30 minutes, one hates the characters so much (Benoit for being so uncaring only because he is such a shallow bigot, and Remy for not trying to bring any conflict, thought or message into the documentary) that they start wishing for one character to come to his senses and turn off the camera and walk away so it will end.What I truly don't understand about this film though, is why it is labeled as a comedy.
This film has highly effective mood and atmosphere, excellent acting, and an intriguing concept (all of which I really wanted to like), but the characters' total lack of humanity kills what makes the concept (in my opinion, to execute this concept well would require at least a substory of a moral conflict between one or more members of the crew and Ben or Remy) so interesting..
I appreciate it for its originality and the way it got shot and done but other than that I got nothing out of this movie at all.It's supposed to be a fake documentary, or rather said mockumentary, in which a camera-crew follows the everyday and normal life and work of a serial killer.
We continue to watch as we are excited by gratuitous gore and believe we need to know what's going to happen next; however, at times the violence can seem a little overwhelming and the shocking impulsiveness of the scenes to come makes us want to look away; but we can't, as our utter fascination with the killer on screen does not allow it.
It's actually missing a bit of scenes and imagery as if stuff is being done in one take, it isn't so filled with the desire for "objective proof" that it doesn't show anything, and it slowly ingratiates us with a character who is lively and real and enjoys the camera around instead of pretends to ignore it.Most likely the most brilliant part of this film is the moment they come across the other filmmakers.
Just like him, the violence doesn't seem to affect anyone in this film UNTIL it hits home.MAN BITES DOG is basically a satire on our increasing, voyeuristic fascination with violence and at times, don't be surprised if you find yourself wondering why exactly you're watching it OR why the filmmakers even bothered making it.
It does has the perfect look and feel (grainy b/w 16MM, documentary-style hand held camera-work), the performances aren't bad (the cast and crew are interchangeable) and the violence is effectively disturbing, but this becomes overwhelming, irritating and redundant before it's all over with.My review refers to the unrated version (which runs 92 minutes) but an uncut, NC-17 version restores 3 minutes (including internal organs and a rape scene).
Man Bites DogThe problem with video recording your murders in the 1990s was no online ad revenue.So it's hard to understand why the serial killer in this black comedy would do it.With a film crew in tow, charismatic sociopath Ben (Benoît Poelvoorde) goes about his day-to- day, detailing in-depth for the cameras the finer points of slaying strangers.
Man Bites Dog is to me a cross between This is Spinal Tap and A Clockwork Orange, it is both a comedy that we can take seriously no matter how comical it gets and gives us a character who no matter how inhumane he is we are still engrossed with him, the character Ben is one of the most evil characters in cinema history but we still see what is like a 'sub-plot' of the story which is of Ben living a life we can relate to, at parts, such as him interacting with his friends and family and of him watching film reels of him as a child and that is why we are still intrigued by his many theories no matter his inhumane actions.
Though we do laugh many times Man Bites Dog is still one of the most disturbing films ever as it portrays a world of injustice with little regard for human life and has a character who is a ruthless serial killer who isn't the mentally ill loner that is usually portrayed in films such as The Silence of the Lambs but is instead a character who we witness going about his everyday life which involves brutal murder and still manages to fit in his normal routines which include developing his relationship with the determined film crew following his actions..
Shot like a documentary in black and white, the movie takes us through the "normal" living of a cold but always funny killer, which always murders with honor, and with a great philosophy to go with it.
If graphic violence and sadism turn you off, then just skip it.The movie is about a team of Belgian student film-makers who follow Benoit, a local sociopathic killer, as he goes about his business -- robbing and killing innocent (mainly older) people.
But that doesn't matter: the film looks cheap because killing someone is cheap, just like life itself to Ben's way of thinking.Of course the movie struggles a little near the end, especially when we see a second film crew shooting their own murder-documentary before they meet up with the first.