MAN BITES DOG

The source gives Man Bites Dog four stars for entertainment quality, but its judgment is unmistakable: the film is not worth the nauseating price. Its black-and-white mock-documentary style is intense and its satire aims at media irresponsibility, but the movie eventually becomes what it claims to criticize.

The violence is not incidental. A serial killer shoots, beats, strangles, and robs countless victims, while the camera crew increasingly cooperates with him. The film includes sexual violence, murder, graphic nudity, profanity, drunkenness, and repeated vomiting.

This is a case where strong filmmaking cannot redeem the content. Skip it.

Ben is a cocky serial killer whose murderous outings are filmed by a documentary crew. As he chats about architecture, poetry, and practical methods for disposing of bodies, the crew treats him with disturbing objectivity.

The mockumentary follows Ben through encounters with family, friends, and victims while attempting to expose the media’s irresponsible fascination with violence.

Four stars means the source considers the film powerfully executed as entertainment, even while condemning its content. Its grainy black-and-white photography, mock-documentary form, and intensely controlled provocation give the movie a distinct artistic identity.

But the same design becomes part of the problem. The satire’s line between exposing media irresponsibility and participating in it disappears. What remains is an exercise in excess that produces numbness and nausea rather than a worthwhile message.

The film presents itself as a criticism of media irresponsibility. Its documentary crew claims to be “objective” while following a serial killer, filming his crimes, and increasingly cooperating with him. The source’s central judgment is that the film’s critique collapses because it becomes the very thing it condemns.

The worldview code identifies humanism. Yet this story’s treatment of people as objects of spectacle — victims, killers, and viewers alike — offers no convincing account of human dignity, justice, or moral accountability. Violence becomes a subject for observation and provocation rather than a tragedy that calls for repentance and judgment.

The film’s concern about irresponsible media is worth recognizing, but its method overwhelms its message. Scripture calls people to turn away from evil, not to make evil an object of fascination: “Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Romans 12:9).

Man Bites Dog may be formally daring, but its violence and sexual brutality overwhelm its media critique. The film’s own accusation disappears inside the excess. For your family and your conscience, SKIP IT.