# Instinct (1999)

### reviewed by
Jon Popick

PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com

No, it's not the sequel to Silence of the Lambs, but it sure feels like it. Cuba Gooding Jr. (What Dreams May Come) stars as Theo Caulder, an ass-kissing, ladder-climbing psych resident at the University of Miami. Caulder's mentor (Donald Sutherland, Without Limits) gives him a dream assignment – to clinically evaluate a convicted murderer just days before his competency hearing.

The killer is Dr. Ethan Powell (Anthony Hopkins, Meet Joe Black), a former anthropology professor at the U of M. The mild-mannered Powell disappeared while studying a family of gorillas in an African jungle, only to re-emerge two years later as a crazy-eyed killer with long hair. He also hasn't spoken since his capture, so Caulder has his work cut out for him.

Unfortunately, Caulder must agree to evaluate the other kooks in Harmony Bay prison. The result is an annoyingly contrived peripheral plot that does nothing but slow down the pace of the film, as does the strange relationship between Caulder and Powell's daughter (Maura Tierney, NewsRadio). Of other interest is the prison battle between Powell and the sadistic guard, played by eternal bad guy John Ashton (Meet the Deedles). Meet Joe Black? Meet the Deedles? Meet the back of my hand.

What could have happened in the jungle to turn the esteemed Dr. Powell from Richard Attenborough in Miracle on 34th Street to Sean Connery in the beginning of The Rock? What ever it was, it couldn't have been as horrible as sitting through this beast of a film. Instinct drags along like Keyser Soze's gimpy leg, stopping only to feature a few bad cliches (namely a prison rebellion scene reminiscent of the football drama Rudy).

On the plus side, Gooding is a lot better than Denzel Washington would have been if he had won the role (and he probably would have three years ago). Gooding shows range and charisma, both words assumed to be unknown to Mr. Washington. The interaction between Gooding and Hopkins is also better than average, but when they swap their roles of doctor and patient, you can't help but think of the far superior relationship between Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter and his evaluator, Clarice Starling.

Directed by Jon Turteltaub (Phenomenon), Instinct is based on a book called `Ishmael' by Daniel Quinn and adapted for the screen by Message in a Bottle scribe Gerald DiPego. It features some very real-looking fake gorillas, courtesy of Stan Winston, and has a classy Danny Elfman score. The good news is that the novel that will serve as the sequel to Lambs comes out soon. The bad news is that it may not be good enough to wash off the stench of Instinct. (2:04 – R for intense violent behavior)

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