ABSTRACT
This chapter describes John McNaughton's 1998 movie Wild Things, is, in respect to artistic merit, a far cry from Pasolini, Cacoyannis or even Woody Allen, all of whose modern works have been deemed worthy of comparison with classical dramas. Upon an initial viewing of Wild Things, students of classical drama will recall Hippolytus on account of the false accusation of rape dominating the first half of the movie. As with Hippolytus, an accusation of rape causes Lombardo's exile from the community. In close viewing of Wild Things reveals manifest influence from classical mythology and Euripidean tragedy. Although the movie's employment of elements from Euripides' Medea and Hippolytus is impressive — especially in light of the movie's low-brow façade. Aristotle observes in the Poetics that 'everyone delights in representations' and, indeed, anyone might delight in the characters and actions represented in Wild Things.
