Wild Things(1998)

Submitted by Julio M

This one is quite a mind-bender, so it must be watched closely since the smallest and most insignificant clues eventually become a big revelation!!

Short pooper:
Suzie (Neve Campbell) was the mastermind behind the entire scheme. In the end, Kelly (Denise Richards), Ray (Kevin Bacon), and Sam (Matt Dillon) are killed -Suzie herself kills Sam and Ray- and she gets away with it all, AND THE MONEY, which she receives from the hands of Kenneth (Bill Murray).

 

Longer version:
From fairly early in the film, it appears that Kelly, Suzy, and Sam were a threesome, in cahoots and agreed to make up the whole rape accusation and, eventually, let it fall apart in Court as it did so that they could extort Kelly’s very wealthy and socialite mother, Sandra (Theresa Russell), of a multimillion-dollar settlement.

Nonetheless, Ray, a Sargent from the local Police force -and of very dubious methods-along with his partner, Detective Gloria Perez (Daphne Rubin-Vega), digs into the case suspecting a scheme. Despite being ordered to leave it alone, he insists on trying to find more dirt off it and warns Kelly and Suzie that Sam is intent on double-crossing them both, having already transferred the money to an offshore account. Suzie and Kelly fight -and have some steamy sex- over this while being watched by Ray.

Later, the trio goes to a nearby beach at nighttime, seemingly wanting to have some fun; while Sam sends off Kelly to “get some things”, it looks like he beats Suzie to death with a champagne bottle -screams are heard, and even blood and teeth are seeing flying!-, having come to see her as a liability. Kelly and Sam wrap her body in plastic and drive together to a swamp, where Sam disposes of it.

A Missing Person’s report is issued for Suzie; her blood and teeth are found at the beach, and her car is seen abandoned elsewhere. Ray has Gloria watch Sam, who shows her Kelly’s file, indicating her apparent history of violent behavior. Ray confronts Kelly, gunshots are heard, and Ray is seen stumbling out of the pool house, visibly shot in the shoulder; Kelly, however, appears dead of two shots in her chest. Although it looks like he had to act in self-defense and no charges are filed against him, he is fired from the force. Gloria, while following her own clues, finds out about how brilliant Suzie is, despite her poor, troubled background and the ongoing grudge he held against Ray for having killed Davey, a young friend of hers, and been able to frame it as self-defense, which raises her own suspicions.

Then, we discover that Ray and Sam had been working together the whole time, and they both agree that, with both girls dead, although an excessive decision, there is less worry of them being figured out. They go together on a sailing trip, where not only Sam tries to get the upper hand and drown Ray, but, surprisingly,… SUZIE TURNS UP, ALIVE AND WELL -and donning short, blond hair and perfect front teeth, which appeared missing from her mouth when Sam purportedly buried her- and shoots and kills Ray with a speargun, causing him to fall overboard.

In a further turn of events, it is revealed Suzie plotted the whole thing as revenge with Ray because of what Sam did to Davey. To celebrate, she pours a few drinks and gives one to Sam, who is hesitant; she reassures him by playfully saying that “she still needs him to drive the boat,” which seems to convince him. But as he takes the drink, she taunts him about “how easy he was to be figured out, by how he acted and because of his college life, where he picked the easier stuff he could pass by means of multiple choice question exams” and admits SHE ACTUALLY GAVE HIM A POISONED DRINK; as he is about to collapse from it, Suzie knocks him overboard, too, with a mast, and gleefully sails away.

The screen goes black, and the credits roll.

BUT… THAT’S NOT THE END OF IT … BECAUSE … EVERYTHING THAT LOOKED LIKE A LOOSE RED HERRING AND MADE NO SENSE IS TIED UP TOGETHER NEATLY DURING THESE MID-CREDIT SCENES:

• From the earlier stages of the film, Suzie finds out about Sam and Kelly being a sexual, drug-sharing couple and blackmails them with photos she obtained of them together in order to coerce them into the whole plot, which she hatched herself.
• Suzie is later seen setting up the initial meeting between Ray and Sam at a local bar.
• In the sequence where it appeared that Sam killed Suzie, the teeth we saw flying were her own front teeth… because she pulled them off with pliers and left some blood around to make it all look legit!
• Also, the confrontation between Kelly and Ray in the pool house happened like this: Ray went into the house after Kelly and a brief, bloodless scuffle happened; but, then, he managed to get the upper hand and shot her dead after which he manipulated her dead body to look like she took a shot at him -for evidence- and hit him in the shoulder, which is why he was seen staggering out.

In the final extra scene…

• Suzie, free and clear of the whole thing, reacquaints one last time with sleazy lawyer Kenneth, who had defended Sam from the rape charge in the beginning,… AND HE HANDS HER A SUITCASE FULL OF CASH AND A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR CHEQUE, bidding her farewell and asking her to “be good” as she leaves.