Honestly, if you watch Wild Things today, it feels less like a 90s erotic thriller and more like a collective hallucination. You've got high-stakes Florida sleaze, a plot that refuses to stay still for five minutes, and then there’s the Wild Things Kevin Bacon performance that basically anchored the whole chaotic mess. It’s a movie that shouldn't work. On paper, it’s trash. Even Kevin Bacon himself famously said the script was the "trashiest piece of crap" he’d ever read when it first landed on his desk.
But he did it anyway. And he didn't just act in it; he executive produced it.
There is something deeply specific about Bacon’s role as Sergeant Ray Duquette. He’s this greasy, determined, yet somehow charming detective who spends the first two acts acting as our moral compass—only to rip the rug out from under everyone in the third. It’s the kind of role that reminds you why the "Six Degrees" thing exists. The guy is everywhere because he's willing to go anywhere, even into a Florida swamp filled with actual dead bodies.
That time they found a real floater
You can't talk about the vibe of this movie without mentioning the production. It was 1998. They were filming in the Everglades, dealing with heat, humidity, and enough mosquitoes to carry away a small child. During a recent 2025 interview with Variety, Bacon reminisced about a night shoot near a river. The crew had floated a raft out to set up lighting.
Suddenly, a voice crackles over the walkie-talkie: "Hey, I think I just saw a floater."
It wasn't a prop. It was a real human body drifting past the set. Most productions would be scarred for life, but for the Wild Things crew, it just felt... right? Bacon noted that the discovery was "indicative of the vibe of the movie." They called the cops, the police fished the body out so it wouldn't ruin the shot, and they kept rolling. That is the most Wild Things sentence ever written.
The Wild Things Kevin Bacon "Accident"
Look, we have to talk about the shower scene. It’s the moment that usually comes up first when people discuss the film’s legacy. If you grew up in the 90s, this was a legendary "wait, did I just see that?" moment.
For years, people debated if Bacon’s full-frontal scene was planned. The director, John McNaughton, has since cleared the air. It was a total fluke.
The script called for Matt Dillon to throw a towel to Bacon. They did about eight takes. In every single one, Bacon caught the towel and covered up. Except for take eight. He missed. The camera caught everything.
Initially, McNaughton wasn't going to use it. He didn't want the hassle. But his editor, Elena Maganini, made a pretty compelling argument for "nudity equity." She basically told him, "You've got scene after scene of topless women; this one is for us."
Bacon, being the pro he is, didn't sweat it. When the producers called to ask if they could use the footage, his only question was, "How do I look?" They told him he looked fine. He said, "No problem."
The twist that was too gay for 1998
Believe it or not, there was almost an even bigger reveal in that shower.
In the original script, the scene wasn't just about a detective talking to a suspect. It was supposed to show that Ray Duquette and Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon) were actually lovers. They were supposed to look each other up and down and—as McNaughton put it—"go at it."
Bacon was actually all for it. He thought it was a brilliant twist because the whole movie is built on layers of deception. He liked the idea that the two men were the ultimate architects of the chaos.
Matt Dillon? Not so much.
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Dillon admitted later he was "relieved" when the scene was scrapped. He felt it was "one twist too many." The financiers also got cold feet. They were fine with the Neve Campbell and Denise Richards pool scene, which launched a thousand teenage crushes, but a gay twist between two major male stars was apparently a bridge too far for a mainstream thriller in the late 90s.
Instead, we got a much more cynical ending.
Why the movie actually holds up
If you strip away the "Skinemax" reputation, Wild Things is a fascinating look at class and greed. McNaughton has called it his "most political film."
Think about who wins. It’s not the wealthy heiress. It’s not the hotshot guidance counselor. It’s certainly not the corrupt cop.
It’s Suzie Toller. The "trailer park" girl played by Neve Campbell.
She takes down the entire power structure of Blue Bay. She out-manipulates a veteran detective and a genius-level sociopath. The final shot of her sailing off into the sunset with $8.5 million is the ultimate 90s middle finger to the establishment.
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Key takeaways for your next rewatch
If you’re planning on diving back into this swampy masterpiece, keep an eye on these details:
- The IQ Clue: Early in the film, Suzie is seen reading Death on the Installment Plan by Céline. It’s a dense, cynical French novel. It’s the first hint that she is way smarter than she’s letting on.
- The Bill Murray Factor: Murray plays a "low-rent" lawyer, and he’s the only person in the movie who seems to know he’s in a comedy. His performance is what tells the audience it’s okay to laugh at how ridiculous everything is.
- The Credits: Never turn this movie off when the names start rolling. The mid-credits scenes are essential. They fill in the gaps of how the "Kansas City Shuffle" actually worked.
- The Dental Work: Pay attention to Suzie’s "death." The fact that she pulled out her own teeth with pliers to fake her murder is a level of commitment that most villains could never achieve.
The legacy of Wild Things Kevin Bacon is really about a period of Hollywood where mid-budget movies could be weird, dirty, and genuinely surprising. It wasn't trying to set up a cinematic universe. It was just trying to blow your mind with a new twist every twelve minutes.
If you want to appreciate Bacon's range, watch this back-to-back with Footloose or Apollo 13. The man can play a hero, a villain, and a corrupt Florida sergeant with the same level of effortless cool.
Next Steps for the Obsessed:
- Check out the director's cut if you can find it; it restores some of the smaller character beats that make the final betrayal feel even more earned.
- Look up John McNaughton’s other work, specifically Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, to see where his dark sensibilities truly started.
- Re-read the credits scenes slowly—there are still small background details about the money trail that most people miss even on their third watch.