man bites dog

© 2008 William Ahearn

Forget about Oliver Stone’s 1994 “Natural Born Killers” – Mickey and Mallory are thrill or spree killers and not serial killers. For a film about serial killers and the media, the film to see is “C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog)” directed by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde in 1992.

This is shot as a documentary of a serial killer and it is violent, funny, bizarre, disturbing and not for the faint of heart. While numerous films examine the relationship between serial killers and the media, not one of them does it with the depraved guts of “Man Bites Dog.” This Belgian film has won several awards and generated a lot of controversy and the controversy isn’t some press agent finding something to exploit and planting it in the media. This is the real deal as far as sardonic satire goes and it pulls no punches and doesn’t spare sensitive sensibilities.

“Man Bites Dog” is also unnervingly funny and you might worry a bit about yourself when it’s over. One of the best films in this series, but be warned: It’s a very disturbing film.

William Ahearn