The 4th Man · reception & legacy

1983 · Paul Verhoeven

How The 4th Man has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

After Dutch critics savaged Spetters, Verhoeven answered with this ostentatiously 'arty' thriller — and it worked, winning over critics at home and becoming a genuine US arthouse hit in 1984. Today it's routinely reappraised as the crown jewel of his Dutch period and a queer-cinema touchstone.

What's debated

The perennial fan debate: is this essentially the smarter, stranger first draft of Basic Instinct — and did Verhoeven ever top it in Hollywood?

Its footprint

It lives on as the acknowledged Dutch blueprint for Basic Instinct, with Renée Soutendijk's icy blonde endlessly cited as the prototype femme fatale — and its lurid Catholic dream imagery is a staple of 'most unhinged shots in cinema' conversations.

Where it stands

A certified cult object and Letterboxd favourite — the 'you have to see his Dutch films' recommendation cinephiles hand to anyone who only knows RoboCop and Showgirls.

★ Did you know? Verhoeven has openly admitted he packed the film with religious symbolism partly as a calculated ploy to win over the Dutch critics who had trashed Spetters — and was amused when they took the bait and hailed it as art.